The Witness Chronicles, February 10, 2024
Biden Could Recognize Palestinian State Now
And reject Netanyahu’s extreme and failed strategy
There is nothing black and white about the Israeli/Hamas/Gaza conflict, though if you listen to hard right Israeli leader Netanyahu, you’d think there was. His strategy is basically ‘my way or the highway’. He offers no end game, no statehood options for Palestine, no end to the fighting and killing of thousands of innocents, and pretends his ‘kill them all’ Hamas strategy is realistic.
The US and President Biden have to stop this madness if we can. And the obvious first step we have not heard much about is official recognition of a Palestinian State, even without the borders, government, or other details in place.
This could be done through the United Nations and would send a major signal to the entire Middle East that the only solution we will accept is a two state solution. Leaders across the region see this as essential to cooling tensions and possibly heading off a widespread war.
The Hamas Authority tracking deaths in Gaza has estimated nearly 27,000 have died, mainly civilians, a large percentage of which are children. Netanyahu’s stated goal of totally eradicating Hamas is impossible to measure or achieve when the terrorist group is embedded throughout Palestinian society and seems to have little to no respect for their own people.
They know continued fighting, and what is now slaughter, by the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF), is a powerful recruiting ad for the group, ensuring they will never be eliminated completely.
The reality is that Netanyahu and his extremist members of his war cabinet know this is the case. They have no vested interest in ending the war because it would mean the end of their power and possible criminal corruption indictments.
The US has been a huge supporter of Israel and should continue to be, but despite what he may think, Netanyahu is not Israel. He does not reflect the majority opinion of his own people, he seems uninterested in recovering the Israeli hostages from their horrifying and deadly imprisonment (over thirty have died in captivity), and he has categorically stated there will be no Palestinian state.
What he proposes to do with the Palestinians in that scenario is unknown, because unless he kills them all, he has no solution. Genocide is certainly not an option for a people who have been a target of genocide on a scale never seen before.
Politically, formal recognition of Palestine and a disavowal of Netanyahu, would resolve a major campaign issue hurting Biden right now. It would be foolish to pretend that move would be entirely about the crisis in the Middle East. We have our own crisis relationship with the entire region and it is escalating daily, even as ceasefire talks continue.
We are in what professional negotiators call a Soviet-style negotiation, where one side of the other sets conditions that the other will never accept. This week Hamas made an offer that would require all IDF forces to leave Gaza as a condition. Given the terror slaughter by Hamas on October Seven, this would never be acceptable to the Israelis.
Recognition of a Palestinian State would send a clear message that the US will not accept Netanyahu’s extremist rhetoric any longer. And it might galvanize the Israelis to reject their unpopular leader in exchange for a hostage deal and ceasefire.
The domino effect of this would reverberate across the globe where Houthi shipping attacks are affecting supply chains, and autocratic leaders like Putin and Xi are looking for excuses to start and continue their own wars of conquest.
Biden’s likely opponent, Donald Trump, is a known admirer of these men and admitted aspiring dictator, like his friends in Russia and North Korea. Only by gaining power does he have a hope of keeping himself out of prison in the US.
Continuing to support leaders like Netanyahu and Trump, who are willing to do anything to protect themselves, could result in global conflicts, both military and economic. After four months in Gaza, the only progress, if you can call it that (I cannot) is the growing death toll of innocents and the utter destruction of whatever society Palestinians have known in modern times.
The instability of all this is growing and strong action must be taken to stop it. US recognition of a sovereign state of Palestine could eventually stabilize the entire region, including leading to treaties between the Saudis and Israel that are now on hold.
Netanyahu and his warmongers, and the terrorists in Hamas and throughout the Middle East, fear any alliance and the stability it could herald. Neither side can thrive when peace is possible. We must cut Benjamin Netanyahu loose and no longer support his rule in our ally, Israel.
~ I write The Grasshopper, a letter for creatives, The Witness Chronicles, a place for my articles on politics and climate, and The Remarkable, a recovery letter, about my addiction and reentry experience. All are weekly and free, however this is how I live and I strongly believe all writers and creatives should get paid, if we provide value. Your upgrade to a paid subscription helps make that happen.
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So many people have suggested that Hamas does not really want a sovereign Palestinian state; that their sole purpose is to wipe Israel off the face of the earth. It would be helpful if this idea could be confirmed or denied clearly. Only then can a lasting peace be achieved. Peace does not come via genocide. I studied classical, medieval and modern history - I know how many thousands of years back the roots of this problem reach. But we don't have another thousand or two thousand years to solve it.
I hope that you can get this idea into Biden's hands