By Kieron Murdoch | Opinion Contributor

The term “two state solution” is ubiquitous in debates surrounding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Nevertheless, it is accurate to say that while the value of such an outcome is apparent to many, for the last three decades since the Oslo Accords, the possibility of achieving meaningful progress toward a lasting peace and toward a functioning Palestinian state, has appeared slim.

The gruesome and barbaric attacks of October 7, 2023, by Hamas against Israel which killed some 1,200 people, have sparked another cycle of heightened conflict in which Israel has unleashed its superior military against the Palestinians in Gaza in a ceaseless and brutal campaign of retribution against a people who have lived under its occupation since June 1967 (57 years). That campaign has reportedly now led to the deaths of more than 42,000 people.

Outside of Israel and Gaza, deepening polarisation of opinion on the conflict has fuelled protests and political division in a number of countries, especially in North America and in Western Europe, where longstanding support by those governments for Israel’s military capabilities and security policy has attracted greater debate. In the Caribbean too, opinions differ on the conflict and on the means by which it should end.

Caribbean nations have, however, tended to support the idea of a two state solution, which is to say, they have supported the idea of an unoccupied functioning Palestinian state and self-determination for Palestinians. All 14 Caribbean Community (CARICOM) members now recognize Palestine as a State, with the most recent countries to extend such recognition being Barbados, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, and The Bahamas in 2024.

As the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza continues with no end in sight, and with Israel putting forward no concrete plan that would see it end its occupation of the Palestinian territories, it is more important than ever that Caribbean nations, small though they may be, fulfil their duty to our common humanity and to the United Nations (UN) charter and continue to support Palestinian statehood. This means supporting the withdrawal of Israel from the occupied territories.

With this in mind, diplomatic attention should be focused on the United States (US) and Israel’s partners in Europe. These nations provide it with the military support it depends on for its security. Continuous effort must be made in conjunction with others in the international community to pressure Israel’s security partners to demand that it withdraw.

Withdrawal and an end to the occupation will not solve all the problems now faced in the occupied territories or in Israel. These are the political, social and economic problems attendant to so many decades of ongoing conflict. Nevertheless, many argue that it will provide a crucial plank upon which further action toward peace, stability and real statehood can progress.

Peace is likely to remain elusive whilst the Palestinian people live under occupation; in Gaza, in concentration and squalor; and in the West Bank, with the encroachment of Jewish “settler” colonists whose purpose is to erase the possibility of a Palestinian state.

The Israeli Palestinian conflict is one of the most debated issues of this and previous century. Political leaders, historians, academics, pundits, and everyone in between has an opinion on who is to blame, what missteps led to where the conflict is today, whose entitlement to land is more sacrosanct than their neighbour’s, and whose cause is more righteous.

But at this point, after all the missteps of history, the missteps of leaders, and the wrongs of empires that delivered us to where we are today, it is rather pointless to try and find an antagonist and a protagonist in this narrative. In any examination of the parties to this conflict, you will find examples of righteousness and examples of unrighteousness.

In the case of Israel and the Palestinians and the different governments and organisations that have represented them over time, you will find examples of wanton aggression and utter disregard for human life. You will also find examples of actions aimed at a sustainable peace. Trying to align oneself with any particular party’s cause is a waste of time. Such a cause will always come with the baggage of heinous actions committed in furtherance of objectives considered to be righteous.

A wiser approach is to step back and simply analyse what the current catalysts for continued aggression are, whether the human rights of the people involved are being observed or need to be protected, and what conditions can be imposed on the parties in order to bring about not only a cessation in violence, but the development of a functional Palestinian state at peace with its neighbours.

In that vein, it seems fair to say that the Arab people of Palestine are the ones most in need of protection from violence, protection of their human rights, and are the people who would most benefit from a cessation in violence and a chance at self-determination. Conditions there have only gotten more hellish with the ongoing war, bad though they were previously.

Since July, UN experts have acknowledged that there is famine in Gaza. Access to the strip is controlled by Israel and the movement of aid inward has been throttled or denied to a large extent. Most remember the momentary international outrage that occurred when Israel bombed a World Central Kitchen (WCK) aid convoy killing seven foreign aid workers, later saying its military mistook them for “Hamas gunmen”.

Israel has also taken issue with the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), accusing it of not being neutral, and accusing its staff of working for terrorist organisations and having taken part in the October 7, 2023 attacks. While it has not provided evidence for the claim, this week, the UN reported that the Israeli Parliament was considering laws to prevent UNRWA operations in the occupied Palestinian territories.

The UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said that the delivery of food, shelter and healthcare “would grind to a halt” and that 600,000 children in the occupied Palestinian territories “would lose the only entity that is able to re-start education, risking the fate of an entire generation.” Clearly, the plight of the people of Gaza is dire.

While a ceasefire and humanitarian aid are what they desperately need now, unless a lasting peace is secured through an arrangement which involves Palestinian self-determination and an end to occupation, their conditions will never improve beyond being aid dependent, and conflicts are likely to break out again and again.

There are many obstacles to full Palestinian statehood and progress toward it. Often cited is the fact that organisations which presently may be considered to represent elements of the Palestinian people politically are either tainted by Iranian and other influences, engage in terrorism, are extremist; or are corrupt, decrepit and unfit for governance. Still, this does not absolve Israel of its duty to abide by international law and cease its occupation of these territories.

Continued occupation is considered by many to be the most significant factor that continues to bring Israel and Palestinians into conflict. Many are also of the view that Israel has had no reason for the continued occupation of the territories other than the desire of successive Israeli governments to annex the land in question. The government often refrains from stating this openly. Instead, it uses the veil of security to justify the continued occupation.

And yet, Israel does not gain security from its constant occupation of Gaza and the West Bank. Conversely, it gains a hostile population whose social, political, and economic conditions create additional opportunities for violent extremism and religious fundamentalism to flourish, thereby posing a threat to Israel. Israel has the most powerful military in the Middle East and the backing of the US. Israel does not need to occupy Gaza and or the West Bank to guarantee its security.

In fact, it wastes a considerable amount of money in the endeavour and exposes its servicemen to danger through such a policy. Even if a future Palestinian state were hostile to Israel, the state of Israel – being that it is the most powerful military in the Middle East and has the support of the US – would still have the same capability to bomb, invade, and destroy its enemies, just as it is bombing, invading and destroying Hamas and Gaza at present.

The occupation is not for the sake of security. Occupying powers do not gain security. They lose it. It leaves them exposed to terrorism, rebellion, insurgencies, and to political strife in the occupied territories as well as in their own homelands. Instead, the refusal to end the occupation of the Palestinian territories has to do with the belief by some in Israel – particularly those on the current right wing of that country’s political spectrum – that all the land of Palestine is an entitlement of Jewish people.

Further, some believe that all other people who have made a home there over centuries are simply aliens who have no right to statehood on that territory or to equal coexistence. This is an extremist view steeped in zealotry and ought to be recognized as such. Those who support this belief, and who seek the removal of non Jewish people from this land know that such a thing can only be achieved through the imprisonment, expulsion, or extermination of the other occupants, all of which are crimes against humanity.

It must also be recognized that the current Israeli leadership will not be moved to end the occupation unless compelled to do so by their external partners. Benjamin Netanyahu, the current Prime Minister of Israel, has never been and will never be a good faith actor in the cause of peace through Palestinian statehood and self-determination. In power for a cumulative 16 years now (1996–1999, 2009–2021, 2022-present), Netanyahu is the longest-serving prime minister in Israel’s history.

Benjamin Netanyahu is staunchly opposed to Palestinian statehood. He is staunchly opposed to the withdrawal of Israel from the occupied Palestinian territories. He has been a staunch supporter of building illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank. And he is a staunch supporter of the view that the occupied land ought to be annexed by Israel.

However, the fate of the Palestinian people cannot wait for a new Israeli government. It remains imperative to the people of Gaza that the occupation cease. Given that the parties to the conflict on either side are not in a position to come to the table, it becomes a question of the international community presenting terms to the parties to which they must adhere. In the case of Israel, the first step is the end to its ceaseless occupation.

The only nations remotely capable of wielding that sort of leverage over Israel are the nations that support its security, yet seem to do so unconditionally. US influence over Israel has been embarrassingly weak in this conflict despite the fact that it supplies the country with billions in military aid and extends itself militarily to secure Israel from adversaries such as Iran.

As long as Israel has unconditional US support, it will continue to act in any manner it sees fit. If the nations of the Caribbean  are serious about their desire as part of the broader international community to see an end to one of the world’s most protracted conflicts, they must join with others in meaningful and consistent approaches to the US and Israel’s European allies to demand an end to the occupation. It is a necessity for an end to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and for the realisation of full human and political rights for millions of Palestinians.

About the writer:

Kieron Murdoch worked as a journalist and later as a radio presenter in Antigua and Barbuda for eight years, covering politics and governance especially. He is an opinion contributor at antigua.news. If you have an opinion on the issues raised in this editorial and you would like to submit a response by email to be considered for publication, please email staff@antigua.news.