How difficult it is to wait in Gaza; hungry children wait for meals and mothers wait for a let up from the wind that has uprooted tents and rainwater that has spread diseases. Fathers are helpless as they wait on weak pledges and face the cruelty of the enemy.
How difficult it must be to have your city or country hinge on an upcoming meeting and for that meeting to be between your merciless enemy - Benjamin Netanyahu - and the master of the world’s only superpower - Donald Trump. The former is a savage warrior and wily fox, while the latter is moody, reckless and impulsive. Experience has taught us to fear what is to come.
Netanyahu is Israel’s longest serving prime minister. None of his predecessors have ever waged as many wars and killed as many Palestinians. The most dangerous thing about Netanyahu is how good he is. He waltzes with American administrations regardless of how much they like him or not. He surprises and angers them and then chalks it off as a misunderstanding. He bows before the administration when it frowns at his actions, but he does not act as a subordinate even if American assistance is Israel’s lifeline.
He plays around with priorities, derails talks and sabotages negotiations. When forced to agree to a ceasefire, he leaves some of its articles ambiguous. He acts like a victor who reserves the right to change features. A ceasefire does not stop him from firing shots. A ceasefire does not eliminate the “right” to kill.
The politician said it bluntly: Netanyahu would not be acting this arrogantly had the war ended in Yahya al-Sinwar's favor. Netanyahu would not have been able to carry on with his crimes under the guise of ending the hostilities had the “support war” gone in Hassan Nasrallah’s favor. How difficult it is for the oppressor to emerge as victor and for the defeated to have no way to change the equation. Hamas is incapable of launching a new Al-Aqsa Flood and Hezbollah is incapable of resuming the “support war”. Post-Flood Iran is not the same as pre-Flood Iran. Neither is Syria.
I listened to the concerns of the veteran Palestinian politician. I paused at his fear that deterring Iran would become Israel and the United States’ top priorities. He noted that Israel has managed to eliminate the borders Iran had set up in Gaza after the enclave was razed to the ground and tens of thousands of people killed. It managed to eliminate Iran’s borders with Israel in southern Lebanon through the ceasefire agreement and implementation of Resolution 1701 that dismantles the infrastructure Tehran had spent decades building. Israel also eliminated Iran’s border in Syria after the Iranian Revolutionary Guards were forced to leave and the expulsion of pro-Tehran militias.
The politician said it was not enough for Netanyahu to change Iran’s borders in Israel’s immediate environment, but he went beyond that. He dispatched his jets to strike Tehran. For the first time in decades, Iran’s image and fortifications were shaken, especially after American jets struck its nuclear facilities.
It was not enough for Netanyahu to expel Iran from Israel’s borders. He sought to create permanent changes along these borders under the pretext of protecting Israel from future surprises similar to the Al-Aqsa Flood Operation. It is obvious that Netanyahu will not agree to restoring Gaza’s borders to the way they were before the Flood. He wants to create a “security belt” or “buffer zone”. He is making the same demand in the negotiations with Syria. His insistence on destroying border villages in southern Lebanon reveals his true intentions and demands.
The politician said he was deeply concerned; not over Gaza alone, but the entire Palestinian cause. He wondered what may happen if Trump’s forward drive were to stall due to internal or foreign issues. This means that the second phase of the Gaza ceasefire will not effectively take off the ground. This means that Lebanon will remain caught in an endless loop in south and north of the Litani River given the ongoing instability and failure to kick off reconstruction and investment. Trump is the only hope for people languishing in bloody crises.
The politician hailed the massive sacrifices made by the people of Gaza “who fought like no one has done before.” He noted, however, that the endless sacrifices do not negate the fact that the enclave needs several years to remove the rubble and begin reconstruction. There is a serious fear that the West Bank could also be lost to the settlement policies, Israeli incursions and instability.
The politician added: “There is a truth we are trying to cover up and avoid. This applies to Gaza and Lebanon. The balance of power is currently not in our favor. This doesn’t mean we have to surrender, but we must boldly grasp the reality on the ground. Isn’t it better for Hamas to return to the Palestinian fold and invest its capabilities in building a state and serving Palestinian legitimacy? Isn’t Hezbollah better off returning to the Lebanese fold and investing its capabilities in the diplomatic battle the government is waging to end the Israeli occupation and violations?”
How painful it is to wait on the meetings of others who will decide the fate of your country. What will the new year bring for Gaza and Lebanon? The politician noted that Sharaa’s Syria has been pragmatically dealing with the fallout from the Al-Aqsa Flood. It chose its own path and position, which has facilitated the removal of sanctions. It survived the Al-Aqsa Flood and sent frank messages. It turned into a partner to the US in the war on ISIS. This is a major shift for Syria and its neighbors must take note.
Netanyahu’s dates in the US are important, difficult and dangerous. The dates will be costly if tough lessons are not derived from the Al-Aqsa Flood.
