Hamas, Israel can still seek peace amid the fighting
As Israel wages war against Hamas, it must simultaneously propose a path toward peace. Clearly, it is difficult to talk about peace during wartime. Temperatures are running high, and an understandable sense of pain and outrage has overtaken even the soundest of minds. So much so that there are those who cannot see past seeking revenge. But a peace initiative is the only way Israel’s ultimate security can succeed.
Israel should vow that, once the war ends, it will aspire to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict through a two-state solution. To start this process immediately, it should reach out to Mahmoud Abbas, the leader of the Palestinian Authority, and offer to resume negotiations on an interim, or even final, agreement. Israel should invite Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Egyptian President Abdel Fatah El-Sisi and Jordan’s King Abdullah II to sponsor this future diplomatic process — and it should appeal to the leading Gulf states to oversee the rebuilding of Gaza after the war. It should ask the international community to begin to put together a new Marshall Plan that will create a new, more peaceful and economically prosperous Middle Eastern reality over the next few years.
Israel should not walk into the trap set by Iran, Hamas and Hezbollah. It must not conduct a campaign that will ignite a regional conflict. The Jewish democratic state must not perpetuate its enemies’ disregard for human life. It must retain the moral high ground, safeguard its international legitimacy and maintain the support of the majority of Americans.
Israel must make clear this is a war against Hamas, not against the Palestinians — a war for life and Western values, not for territory. A war whose foremost objective is peace.
Confronting the sophisticated tactics of Iran and its proxies is an enormous mission that requires the combined resources of Israel, the United States, Europe and like-minded nations. And a long, complex and grim military engagement such as this requires a robust moral foundation. It is imperative for Israel to take the lead in the peace process and forge a wide international coalition similar to the one built by George H.W. Bush and James Baker on the eve of the Gulf War, or the coalition President Joe Biden built in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
A peace initiative is critical to assembling such powerful diplomatic partnerships — which will underpin the war against Hamas. Presenting a positive diplomatic horizon will clarify what Israel is fighting for, and why the United States and its allies support it.
Hamas’ monstrous assault on the peaceful kibbutzim in southern Israel last month is incomprehensible and indefensible. It was not only an antisemitic attack against the Jewish state, it was also an attack of brutal tyranny against liberty. It was an attack of deranged fanaticism against sanity. It was an attack on the basic values and way of life of the free world. Sadly, many do not recognize this simple and painful truth.
A wartime peace initiative will open eyes. It will help Israel win the contest for hearts and minds and allow every democracy in the world to place itself on the right side of history. It will thus ensure a decisive victory against the anti-democratic fundamentalism of Hamas. And, crucially, it will pave the way to a more secure future for the Middle East.
History will not forgive us if, at this critical juncture, we do not offer the hopeful horizon of peace despite the tragedy of war.