I have read many articles, and written some, too, about the tragic Israel-Palestine War in Gaza following Hamas’ terrorist attack on Israel on 7 October 2023 where more than twelve hundred people were killed, many injured, and more than a hundred taken hostage, including foreigners, and few have been freed till now. Israel’s overkill revenge has led to huge numbers of Palestinian casualties in Gaza, with over thirty-three thousand civilian children, women, and men killed. Everyone of the 2.3 million living in Gaza has suffered and many have had to flee from the bombings, and move to areas they have thought were safer. They have become internally displaced people (IDPs) with nowhere to go as borders are closed and no one can leave. Israel has blocked international aid organizations from distributing needed humanitarian aid. That also includes the UN Refugee and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA), designated to help all Palestinians since it was established in 1949. Also, other aid organisations like the Red Cross and the Red Crescent have been blocked from carrying out their work, even in hospitals. Currently, some aid is allowed in to avoid the worst effects of outright famine and starvation. A reluctant temporary cease-fire was approved by the UN Security Council last week, but implementation is awaited. This week, seven foreign and local aid workers, working for the organization World Central Kitchen, were killed by Israelis while transporting food aid from a ship.
Breaking Big Tech Now during Ramadan, the Muslim month of fasting – and Lent, the Christian month of fasting, which ended with Easter last week, and the Jewish Passover, which is coming in a few weeks – many people pray for peace in the Middle East. We know that religions have differences, but we must also remember that God is one and the same for all. I hope that we will still continue to pray and that we can find space in our hearts for forgiveness and hope for a future without revenge and bitterness. The latter is perhaps too much to ask for, but at least we can pray for tolerance and the ability to live together as neighbours, if not necessarily as close family and friends; over time, people maybe we can learn that they are all alike and the same. Many theological scholars say that this is how we should understand Jesus/Isa’s words when he said: “Love your enemies” (Matt. 5:43).
In any case, rebuilding Palestine and Israel will take prayers and a change of heart, and it will take many types of efforts and actions on the people of the two lands, with international support. Describing the horrors of the war, and all that is wrong, is one thing, but we must also discuss and describe the tasks ahead, uphill, yes, but with hope and prosperity, too. At the outset, we can establish that injustice has been done against the Palestinians, at least since WWI, and against the Jews, at least since WWII. The ill-planned establishment of the State of Israel in 1948, on Palestinian land, which was decided by the UN and the international community a year earlier, was an injustice against the Palestinians, but also against the Jews, in lands with no permanent borders, leading to conflicts and wars.
Managing Water The injustice that has been done should be realized, formal apologies should be made, and corrective measures put in place. The issues are local but they are also international. People talk about a Two-State Solution, which was outlined in the Oslo Agreements of 1993, but never followed up seriously. Had Israel been created today, not in 1948, it would have been unacceptable to create a country on religious and ethnic borders. It would have had to be a One-state Solution, a one Palestinian state, with internal Jewish provinces with a high degree of autonomy for orthodox and other Jews who would wish to live separately. However, in future, I envisage that the majority of the people will live in one unified state. Even in today’s Israel, there are about a fifth of Palestinians who are Israeli citizens, but not always with entirely equal citizen rights. In future, the larger state will be a New Palestine for all, taking advantage of the diversity of people.
Due Process A future One-State Solution, a New Palestine, seems to be the best solution. Yet, I believe that the current Israel will still exist as a separate state. However, it is likely that security and military would have to be controlled by the international community. Also, in the initial years and decades, the New Palestine would need international assistance to build a state with truly democratic institutions and reduced corruption. Whether Gaza, or parts of it, and parts of the West Bank should be integrated in Israel, must be negotiated. And also if some parts of Israel should become integrated in the New Palestine. The current Israeli settlements on the West Bank would certainly have to be under the New Palestine rule, and the settlers (whether orthodox or liberal) should have the option of moving back to Israel proper or stay in the New Palestine.
I believe that until we begin discussions of alternatives like this about a New Palestine, we will not be able to find permanent solutions. Remember that the Two-State Solution has not been implemented, not even described in any degree of detail, also not at this time of deep crisis in the Israel-Palestine relations. To refer to the Two-State Solution becomes more like claiming one is considering it without really doing so. Hence, I find that a One-State Solution, the New Palestine for all, is the most honest and true solution I can foresee. We should recall, too, that a few countries voted for it when Israel was created in 1948 on Palestinian land, alas, based on Western, colonial thinking of the time. It is now everybody’s duty proactively to search for a new and durable solution, such as the one I have proposed.
Cartoon And then, the way I ended last week’s article about the Russian War in Ukraine, I would like to end today’s article About the Israel-Palestine War in a few lines from Bob Dylan’s song ‘Blowin’ in the Wind’ from 1963.
‘How many years can some people exist before they are allowed to be free? Yes, and how many times can a man turn his head and pretend that he just doesn’t see? And how many ears must a man have before he can hear people cry? Yes, and how many deaths will it take ‘til he knows that too many people have died?’
Atle Hetland
The writer is a senior Norwegian social scientist with experience from university, diplomacy and development aid. He can be reached at atlehetland@yahoo.com
New Palestine for All
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04.04.2024
I have read many articles, and written some, too, about the tragic Israel-Palestine War in Gaza following Hamas’ terrorist attack on Israel on 7 October 2023 where more than twelve hundred people were killed, many injured, and more than a hundred taken hostage, including foreigners, and few have been freed till now. Israel’s overkill revenge has led to huge numbers of Palestinian casualties in Gaza, with over thirty-three thousand civilian children, women, and men killed. Everyone of the 2.3 million living in Gaza has suffered and many have had to flee from the bombings, and move to areas they have thought were safer. They have become internally displaced people (IDPs) with nowhere to go as borders are closed and no one can leave. Israel has blocked international aid organizations from distributing needed humanitarian aid. That also includes the UN Refugee and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA), designated to help all Palestinians since it was established in 1949. Also, other aid organisations like the Red Cross and the Red Crescent have been blocked from carrying out their work, even in hospitals. Currently, some aid is allowed in to avoid the worst effects of outright famine and starvation. A reluctant temporary cease-fire was approved by the UN Security Council last week, but implementation is awaited. This week, seven foreign and local aid workers, working for the organization World Central Kitchen, were killed by Israelis while transporting food aid from a ship.
Breaking Big Tech Now during Ramadan, the Muslim month of fasting – and Lent, the Christian month of fasting, which ended with Easter last week, and........
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