An internationally supported, long-term plan is needed to bring peace to Israel-Palestine
The flags of Israel and Palestine [Alamy]
1 hr
The announcement of a ceasefire will bring a much-needed and welcome respite for the peoples of Israel and Palestine following the horrific violence of the past two weeks.
However, past history suggests this could result in another uneasy stand-off – one that will do nothing to address the Palestinians’ desire for self-determination and the Israelis’ desire for security – rather than take us closer to a lasting peace.
Indeed, since Hamas staged a bloody coup and ejected the Palestinian Authority from Gaza in 2007, Israel has been drawn into a vicious cycle of rocket attacks and airstrikes on four occasions. The price has been paid in the tragic loss of innocent Palestinian and Israeli lives.
Daily Times
May 26, 2021
Symbolically, expressing concern for the unthinkable Israeli atrocities against the Palestinians seems a fait accompli to the rest of the international community, including the Muslim Ummah, who remains helpless in countering an iniquitous Israeli agenda. Current events in occupied East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip strongly endorse that Israel is constantly practicing a policy of repression/ military brinkmanship in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT). Democrat US lawmaker Alexandria Ocasio Cortez has called Israel an apartheid state. In a recent tweet, she said, ‘’If the Biden admin can’t stand up to an ally, who can it stand up to? “She added: “Apartheid states aren’t democracies.”
In the wake of the recent fighting between Israel and Hamas, the old idea of a two-state solution to the Palestinian problem has arisen again. But before that becomes possible, perhaps Israelis and Palestinians need to deal with their two stories
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That will mean finding a way to bridge the chasm between deeply embedded, separate, and parallel narratives they’ve each told themselves about their history and place in the land both passionately claim as their own.
Why We Wrote This
What if peace between Israelis and Palestinians can only be achieved if each side appreciates the other’s national story about their ties to the same land? The recent fighting has given impetus to those seeking such understanding.
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