I believe you are dreaming. I do not blame you for that, no one wants to see innocent Israelis and Palestinians die. However, long before any attempt for a two-state solution is pursued, everyone must want peace and that desire has to be expressed through the leaders they elect to rule them. I do not see any evidence of that.
Peace cannot be negotiated by third parties or even imposed by third parties. If it could, why not start with Ukraine. Ah, you say, but Putin is crazy and unreasonable and will only negotiate for gain before he breaks the peace as he has done before.
True.
And the same thing applies to the Middle East. No logic or rational resolution will work until both the Palestinians and Israelis are so sick of war, that they are prepared to turn against their own citizens that promote war. The last part is critical.
If the Palestinians had attacked Hamas on October 8th, killed or imprisoned everyone who participated in the October 7th attacks and returned the hostages, then that would suggest they are ready for peace. If Israel is willing to ruthlessly address any illegal settlements in Palestinian territory, that would suggest Israel is ready to talk peace. When that happens, I think peace talks can and should begin. But the people are not ready for that and no amount of logic matters.
Hate is a powerful emotion that logic does not cure.
When do you think Israel, or the Palestinians will be prepared to "make war" on their fellow citizens to preserve peace? Once that start happenings, peace will become possible. Otherwise, only "truces" can be imposed temporarily through coercion and these "truces" will simply serve as a means to "rearm" for the next encounter.
For us in America, we should learn from the Middle East how powerful the evils of identity politics can be. At its core, identity politics divides people and attempts to dehumanize the enemy. Dehumanization is the first step towards justifying genocide against another group.
Around the western world, Marxist ideology is being used to label groups as oppressors or oppressed rather than simply "different". The label of oppressor or oppressed invites violence and has in the Middle East for thousands of years... it does not invite compromise.
Yet we are allowing such ideology to flourish in the US and most western nations in fact many professors in our colleges are teaching it.
If we want our diverse society to thrive, we must condemn identity politics and promote integration. It may be too late for the Middle East to effectively integrate, but hopefully it is not to late in the US.
