Page 5 - Pakistan Link - October 13, 2023

OPINION PAKISTAN LINK - OCTOBER 13, 2023 - P5
Hamas Strikes Israel their homes. The best they could get fice politically. The other option is to
n By Nayyer Ali MD ated, would not be able to return to dead Israelis, it is unlikely this will suf-

n a surprise attack on October is financial compensation. Israel’s bad invade Gaza and kill and dismantle
7, Hamas unleased a wave of as- faith in the Oslo process was clearly Hamas. Such an approach, in a small
Isaults into Israel from the Gaza demonstrated by the fact that no Israeli tract of land with 2 million people, will
Strip. Israeli intelligence completely government ever stopped building il- lead to appalling loss of life and dev-
failed to anticipate legal settlements in the West Bank, astation. In the end, Israel will pre-
this attack, which in- the very territory that was supposed vail in a military sense, but then how
volved the coordinat- to form a Palestinian state. These does it control and administer Gaza?
ed use of thousands hard truths, which both sides refused It would need to permanently deploy
of rockets, followed to state clearly to their own peoples, 25-50 thousand soldiers on occupation
by explosives that meant that both sides could persist in duty, who would be subject to ongoing
breached the border fantasies about how this conflict ends. attacks and suicide bombings. Just the
wall and waves of gunmen in trucks With Oslo failed, there has been no sort of things that forced Israel to with-
that entered Israel. While the rock- Plan B. While the US under Obama draw from Gaza in 2005.
ets, which are crude and mostly miss, was committed to a two-state solu- The third option would be to seri-
caused some loss of life in Israel, it was tion, Obama never pressured Israel to ously consider how this conflict actu-
the gunmen who were able to inflict actually do anything. Under Trump, ally ends. While a military response
major casualties. Over 900 Israe- The Israeli war with Hamas is not new. But it has entered a dangerous the US gave up on the Palestinian is- from Israel would still take place, there
lis were killed, mostly civilians, and new phase of escalation - Photo The New York Times sue, and Trump’s dilletante son-in-law would need to be an understanding
over 100 were taken as hostages back Jared Kushner spent his time getting that this problem has no military solu-
to Gaza. Another two to three thou- and the West Bank) while the two sides since. a useless agreement between Bahrain, tion. We would come full circle, back
sand Israelis were wounded. Israeli were to actively negotiate a final status Instead of coming to a deal with the UAE, and Israel signed. Mean- to 1993 and the idea of a two-state so-
airstrikes on Gaza have already killed agreement within five years that would the Palestinians, the Israelis decided while, in Israel the political scene has lution.
several hundred Palestinians, but the end the conflict. The PLO recognized to abandon their position in Gaza been dominated by the right, with The Palestinians have always had a
worst is still to come. Israel’s right to exist as part of this deal. and pull out their troops, leaving the Netanyahu serving as Prime Minister weak hand. But they have played their
While tactically this operation Unfortunately, the Oslo process tiny Gaza Strip surrounded and under for over a decade now. He has never weak hand very badly. With poor lead-

probably exceeded even Hamas’s own was a failure. It failed for two reasons. stiff blockade. In this power vacuum offered any answer to the Palestinian ership, they have been unable to bring
hopes of success, it is both morally First, it was deliberately murdered by Hamas has thrived. question. The Israeli position has been an end to the occupation, which is
and strategically already a failure. The a fanatic right-wing Jew who assas- The other reason that Oslo failed is that the Palestinians can be kept subju- essentially a form of apartheid. Even
deliberate killing of civilians is a war sinated Rabin in 1995. This was done that neither the Israeli nor Palestinian gated and confined forever, and neither now, the Palestinians remain deeply
crime, and Hamas is certainly guilty of in a climate where Rabin was being leadership were willing to state clearly the international community, nor the split between Hamas in Gaza and the
that. This attack also achieves nothing vilified for wanting to end the conflict what a settlement would mean in the Palestinians are in a position to chal- Palestinian Authority (essentially the
in terms of justice for the Palestinians with the Palestinians. Without Rabin, real world. For Israelis, no Prime Min- lenge that. successor to the PLO) in the West
or an end to the 56 years of occupation. there was no one strong enough and ister, even Rabin, stated clearly that the What this assault by Hamas has Bank. The PA lacks democratic legiti-
The roots of this assault lie in the dedicated enough on the Israeli side Palestinians would get their own state, shown is that this approach has its lim- macy as no elections have been held by
failure of the Oslo Accords that cre- to realize the goal of Oslo. Instead, the and that Israel would have to fully its. Without direct Israeli control over the Palestinians in decades. The elder-
ated the Palestinian Authority and Israeli voters put Benjamin Netanyahu withdraw from the West Bank and re- Gaza, Hamas has been able to put to- ly Mahmoud Abbas, who succeeded
commenced negotiations to resolve in charge, who was a right-wing hard- move its illegal settlements, which now gether this complex assault. Now the after Arafat’s death 20 years ago, offers
the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. In 1993 liner completely opposed to ending the house over 500,000 Israeli Jews. For Israelis are faced with some difficult the Palestinians no vision.

the PLO headed by Yasser Arafat and occupation and settling the conflict. the Palestinians, Arafat never clearly choices. One option is to double down The Israeli war with Hamas is not
Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin of the Instead of a final deal within five years, stated that a final deal would mean giv- on the existing policy. Reinforce and new. But it has entered a dangerous
left-wing Labor Party signed the Oslo the Oslo process gradually petered out ing up on 78% of Palestine that would militarize the border with Gaza, re- new phase of escalation. What hap-
Accords. This set in motion a process and failed. The PLO maintained its belong to Israel, and that the Palestin- move its own civilian population from pens next is impossible to predict, oth-
of gradual Israeli withdrawal from Pal- grip on the West Bank, but in Gaza, the ian refugees, most of whom are the the nearby vicinity, and choke Gaza er than to say that many more innocent
estinian towns and cities in the terri- militant Hamas group was able to grab descendants of Palestinians ethnically with blockades on electricity, water, people are going to die. The occupa-
tories occupied in the 1967 War (Gaza power in 2005, and has been in charge cleansed in 1948 when Israel was cre- and food. But with almost a thousand tion, for now, will continue.

n By Nahal Toosi How Big Is This Going to Get? What to anything that shows us that Iran was

resident Joe Biden and his directly involved in this attack, in plan-
ning it or in carrying it out, but that’s
aides have long tried to bring Watch for in the Israel-Hamas Battle something we’re looking at very care-
Psome calm to the Middle East, fully,” Secretary of State Antony Blink-
in large part so that the United States en said Sunday morning on NBC’s
could focus more intensely on the to Israel seeking advantage in this situ- Meet the Press.
greater long-term challenge: China. ation.” His aides, meanwhile, are burn- This doesn’t mean that Iran will
That strategy is now in danger due ing up the phones. walk away without repercussions. The
to this weekend’s stunning attack on “Anyone who has influence one way United States could, for instance, im-
Israel by the Palestinian militants of or the other has been spoken with,” pose new sanctions on Tehran on ac-
Hamas. said a US official familiar with the issue count of its general support for Hamas.
As Israel retaliates, the possibility of who, like others, was granted anonym- Will the Saudi-Israel dance end?
a wider regional war looms, demand- ity to discuss a sensitive issue. The Hamas attack threatens a US-
ing more of Biden’s attention. Hun- Israel warned other hostile actors backed peace initiative that would see
dreds of people have died. Biden and not to get involved. “The expansion Saudi Arabia normalize diplomatic re-
his team will inevitably have less band- of the arena of combat against Israel lations with Israel in exchange for US
width to focus on Beijing. And that’s will be met with a particularly harsh security guarantees and other favors.
as the Biden administration’s attention response, including determined and But it’s too soon to say the plan is
already is stretched due to Russia’s war lethal actions by Israel,” an Israeli of- derailed, though it will be delayed.
in Ukraine. ficial said. As Hamas attacked, Saudi Arabia
It’s a frustrating dynamic for a CNN Is Iran to blame? and other Arab states issued state-
White House that had notched what it Some hawks in Washington and be- ments more sympathetic to the Pales-
believed were major, often unsung suc- Here are some that national security Sunday that Hezbollah had fired mor- yond have been quick to label Tehran tinians than Israel. But such immediate
cesses in the Middle East. (And hardly professionals in Washington and be- tar shells at Israeli positions. as the true culprit behind the Hamas responses do not eclipse other factors
a novel one: Many presidents trying to yond are pondering: The fighting could also spread be- attack. Iran, after all, has long finan- the Saudis, Israel and the United States
focus their efforts elsewhere have been How big will this get? yond the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip cially and militarily aided Hamas. consider in crafting a grand peace deal.
vexed by the Middle East.) That includ- What’s now a fight between Israel and to the West Bank. There, tensions A Hamas spokesperson reportedly Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed
ed freezing the war in Yemen and mak- and Hamas has the potential to turn between Palestinians and Israelis have said Iran supported the weekend at- Bin Salman is not as fixated on the
ing headway on pre-existing efforts to into a wider war, convulsing a region risen as Israel has built more settle- tack, and Iranian officials have cheered Palestinian crisis as past Saudi lead-
help Israel build diplomatic, economic that hosts many rivalries — and many ments on land claimed by Palestinians. it. A Wall Street Journal report Sunday, ers. Like Israel, he sees Iran — a ma-
and other ties with once-hostile Arab US troops. But each government or group also citing senior members of Hamas and jor Hamas backer — as a threat to
states; even the Palestinians had gotten Hamas may long for its Iranian has incentives to avoid the fray, includ- Hezbollah, said Iranian security offi- his country. Saudi Arabia and Israel
involved. The Biden team described backers and sympathetic Arab govern- ing not wanting to endanger ties with cials had helped plan the attack. already informally cooperate on Iran;
the strategy as promoting regional “in- ments to come to its direct aid. Other Washington or spill blood and treasure But groups like Hamas do retain making their ties official strengthens
tegration”, but the conflict threatens an armed groups, including Lebanon- on a war with no clear endgame. a certain level of independence from the anti-Tehran bulwark.
unraveling. based Hezbollah, could provide man- American officials are scrambling to Tehran, and US officials have yet to cast Israel already has struck diplomatic
Still, it’s early days, so there are power or seize the moment to spur contain the fighting. Biden on Saturday blame on Iran. normalization deals with Bahrain, the
many more questions than answers. violence elsewhere. There were reports warned “against any other party hostile “At this moment, we don’t have (Continued on page 23)
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