“When you commit crimes against another you are not only hurting them, you are also damaging your own soul” (Wendell Berry, The Need to be Whole).
Two years ago I wrote a series of posts titled: The Status Quo ain’t the Status Quo. (links for each post can be found below). In those posts, I argued that as long as things remain as they were, which at the time included a lack of war and intermittent violence at best, Israel was content. After all, Israel was incrementally confiscating more and more land within the West Bank and building settlements. At some point, the entirety of the land would eventually become theirs.
The terror attack of October 7 has only enabled Israel to accelerate its confiscation of land and the expansion of settlements in the West Bank. In fact, earlier this summer Israel approved the largest land seizure in the last three decades. Thus, Politico reported in July 2024, “Israel turbocharges West Bank Settlement Expansion.”
There is little doubt that if things continue to venture down the present path, which includes the almost complete erasure of Gaza and Israel’s rapid expansion in the West Bank (to date, Israel has 750,000 settlers living in the West Bank), Israel will eventually gain complete control of the land from the river to the sea.
In my last post, titled, “What if it is too late to speak up?” I suggested that we begin speaking up before it is too late.
This may sound alarmist, but hear me out.
Wading through the Rhetoric
As with any complex geo-political conflict, multiple narratives envelop the issue. When it comes to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, most views fall within the boundaries of two radically diverse camps.
On the one hand, some are convinced that Israel has no choice but to maintain the occupation of the West Bank and the oppression of the Palestinians. After all, it is argued that Israel can’t live in peace with the Palestinians because organizations such as Hamas desire nothing less than the total destruction of Israel. Many within this camp believe that it is the quest of the Palestinians to gain control of the entire region, from the river to the sea. The attack of October 7 only served to reinforce such convictions.
On the other hand, some are convinced that the state of Israel desires to have complete control of the entire land, from the river to the sea, with as few of the Palestinians as possible. Many within this camp view Israel’s almost complete destruction of Gaza, their oppressive occupation of the West Bank, and their continued expansion of the settlements as an indication of their intent to confiscate all of the land and expel as many Palestinians as they can.
These dueling narratives often render constructive dialogue towards a just peace ineffective at best and non-existent at worst. Both sides are depicted as bent on destroying the other and disinterested in a lasting peace.
There is no doubt that there are many within Israel and among the Palestinians who desire a just peace. They believe that all the peoples of the land can live peaceably alongside one another. However, the media gives little attention to these moderate, peace-seeking views. After all, sex sells.
So,
– are Israel’s actions a matter of self-defense? Or are they acts of aggression aimed at territorial expansion from the river to the sea, even at the expense of ethnic cleansing and possible genocide of the Palestinians?
– are the Palestinians merely resisting oppression? Or are they motivated by antisemitism and intent on the genocide of the Jews and gaining complete control of all the land from the river to the sea?
The power dynamics as a roadblock to peace
After the terror attack of October 7, many others, myself included, argued that the only way forward is to broker a just peace and an end to the violence. Such a peace must benefit both Israel and the Palestinians.
What is often overlooked is how power dominates such affairs.
When it comes to the present conflict, we must recognize that Israel and the Palestinians do not maintain an equivalency of power. Virtually all of the power, thanks to US support, resides with Israel. The problem has become exacerbated by the fact that some members of the Israeli cabinet adhere to extreme Zionist views.
When we combine these two factors, Israel has virtually all the power, and Israel’s government is, to an extent, beholden to some of these extreme Zionists, there is little doubt that the Sun may already have set on the prospects of peace. As long as this conflict remains on its present path, the extreme Zionist ambitions of gaining complete control of the land with as few Palestinians as possible will come to fruition.
Is it already too late for a just peace?
Perhaps, and it is a big “perhaps,” a just peace will quell the tide of extremism on both sides.
The question arises, however, as to whether or not Israel’s assault on Gaza has gone so far that any path toward peace is untenable. The answer, of course, is that we have no choice but to find out.
My experience in the West Bank: Why I’ll never be the same: status quo: #4
4 Reasons why we should care that the status quo in Israel-Palestine ain’t status quo: #6
Why the Palestinians are being slowly boiled to death status quo #7
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