Palestinian communities mark the solemn farewell of Mahmoud Seif, a casualty in the recent West Bank conflict with the Israeli army, set within a theater of escalating tensions.
Regrettably, in my recent travels across southern Israel and the West Bank, I have borne witness to increasingly bleak chapters of a larger narrative unfolding in the region. The proximity to the Gaza border and interactions with Jewish settlers provided insight into the hardened perspectives dwelling within the difficult political terrain. The mournful sights at the funerals of young Palestinian men claimed by an army raid on a refugee camp cast long shadows.
Conversations with a former Israeli leader in a Tel Aviv skyscraper and a high-ranking Palestinian official in a Ramallah villa reflect the stern realities rippling out from the epicenter of the conflict. I have heard firsthand the chilling account of an Israeli father in Tel Aviv, sharing the torment of his family taken hostage by Hamas during his daughter’s birthday celebration.
However, the situation’s complexity is only deepened by the fact that gaining access into Gaza seems an impossible task for everyone apart from small aid convoys and a select few Israeli combat troops on reconnaissance missions.
The confrontation has cost more lives in the last fortnight than the entire second Palestinian intifada, or uprising, which took place over four years from 2000 to 2004. The unease has grown, as ordinary routines of life have been displaced by fear that the conflict will take an even darker toll.
The current dilemma stems from the territories of Gaza and the West Bank – including East Jerusalem – occupied by Israel since the decisive 1967 war, along with the Golan Heights seized from Syria.
The recent onslaught launched by Hamas continues to shape the evolution of the historical conflict in the region. Like countless observers, I had anticipated a major crisis. It was clear in May 2018, during the violent uproar caused by President Donald Trump’s choice to relocate the U.S embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, a decision that sided with Israel and dismissed the agreed-upon uncertainty of Jerusalem’s status in the international sphere.
The relatively calm aftermath of the embassy move led Netanyahu and his American allies to believe that the Palestinian resistance had been neutralized. However, their complacency was shattered by the far more devastating attack on Israel instigated by Hamas on October 7.
Netanyahu’s choice to let the conflict stagnate, based on the unfounded notion that it could stay under control while more pressing issues were attended to, has proven profoundly misguided.
Journeying to an office in Ramallah, I had a conversation with Sabri Saidam, a British-educated advisor to President Mahmoud Abbas and a senior member of Fatah. Mr. Saidam warned of an impending reaction and urged for intervention and seriousness towards the peace process currently being reduced to a mere symbol of inefficiency and corruption.
However, despite the grave apprehensions documented here, the proposed “two-state solution” by the likes of President Joe Biden and others has started to sound like an empty promise. There are no signs of a peace process, and the long road towards it seems shrouded in more uncertainty now than ever.
Amid reports of a rumored plot by Israel to unleash another Nakba, or catastrophe, on Palestinians, these times ring alarm bells. The fear resonates that Israelis and Palestinians, haunted by their pasts, may be staring into an abyss filled with the promise of even harsher days.
