Netanyahu and Trump Played Into Abbas’ Hands, Pushing the West Toward Palestinian Recognition
The Gaza war has taught everyone in this region and beyond that any military solution cannot bring peace to the Middle East. It only exacerbates the conflict and skyrockets the death toll and grievances among both sides.
If I were to envy Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, it would be only for his patience, sanity, and self-restrained anger, which so far has prevented an open showdown with Israel in the West Bank despite the sweeping sense of anger, frustration, and sorrow that has spread throughout the occupied Palestinian territory since the Gaza War broke out after the October 7, 2023 attack.
People hardly manage to appease their own close family members, sometimes even those living under the same roof. Imagine what a president—any president—can do to satisfy his people and meet their demands and needs.
Even those who criticize Abbas’ inaction often agree, after a few minutes of discussion, that he has succeeded in averting a Gaza-style Nakba (Arabic for disaster) in the West Bank. Isn’t that enough to admire a president who has shown an unwavering commitment to a negotiated settlement for the Arab-Israeli conflict, which some call the Palestinian–Israeli conflict?
One option available to Abbas was to unleash the anger of his people and endorse or even encourage an all-out confrontation with Israeli soldiers and settlers in the occupied West Bank. He could have easily done that. But he is not a popularity addict. He understands how immense the responsibility on his shoulders is—more challenging than that of any previous Palestinian leader since the beginning of the last century.
There was another path he could have taken—one that might have earned him real-time popularity among his people, but likely would have pinned him down in history as yet another failure, like others the Palestinian people have endured after the disastrous gamble of Hamas in October 2023.
Abbas understood his choice clearly. He looked beyond the borders of the occupied Palestinian territory and focused his diplomacy on the world’s nations and, of course, the United Nations. The UN, however, has a history of being ignored by the same state to which it contributed most in its creation—Israel. What an irony.
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Next month, the international arena is expected to witness a historic event when the New York International Conference convenes under the auspices of the UN to recognize the State of Palestine and grant it full member-state status. It is unfortunate that none of Israel’s current leaders seem to understand the importance of this recognition, which would strengthen the legitimacy Israel has lacked because of the ongoing conflict and the Palestinian people’s refusal to give up their quest for independence and freedom in a state alongside Israel on the June 1967 lines. I recall how Israel’s former leaders strove to gain Arab recognition of their state. Opportunities have knocked on Israel’s door many times, at least since Egypt and Israel signed the first peace treaty between Israel and the leading Arab country.
No wonder many of my Israeli colleagues and acquaintances admit this was a grave mistake and regret that the prime minister is more focused on his political survival than on the future of the state itself.
Speaking to Palestinian figures of diverse backgrounds, I was surprised to hear many say they believe that if it had not been for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s arrogance and US President Donald Trump’s embrace of Netanyahu, Western countries would not have rushed so quickly to announce their readiness to recognize the State of Palestine this coming September.
Long before the Hamas attack in October 2023, a total of 140 countries had recognized the State of Palestine. Hamas, for its part, bragged through its spokespeople that its October 7 attack brought Palestinians worldwide recognition of their state. This is nonsense that no rational person would believe. Hamas has always jumped on any Palestinian cause to gain popularity, even if the ultimate price is as grave and painful as the one paid by hundreds of thousands of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, who have lately become victims of famine and starvation, in addition to enduring daily attacks and raids by the Israeli army. The number of Palestinian civilian deaths has recently surpassed 70,000, excluding those buried in mass graves or trapped under rubble.
Recognizing the State of Palestine is the best protection the West can offer Israel. It would help enforce the two-state solution and establish international guarantees and controls on both countries to keep peace alive regardless of the challenges. Egypt and Israel survived the peace treaty they signed in 1979, despite enduring many difficult incidents. Peace is always stronger than war—but to keep it strong, you need committed leaders. The Gaza war should have taught everyone that military means are never a tool to achieve peace or justice. Only a negotiated and mutually agreed settlement can bring peace to the so-called land of peace.
Several recent discussion sessions in Ramallah concluded that Hamas is finished in the postwar Gaza Strip. The latest hardline stance within Hamas reflects the deep gap between its toothless political leadership abroad and the hardline military command in Gaza, currently under Izz al-Din al-Haddad, the highest-ranking officer in Hamas’ military wing. Al-Haddad recently sent a letter to Hamas acting chief Khalil al-Hayyeh in Doha, Qatar, telling him to “cut the crap” and stop negotiating in Doha because nothing not approved by Haddad would be accepted by the fighters in Gaza.
Any Israeli move like last Thursday’s decision to take over Gaza City and then advance to control the rest of the Gaza Strip, reinstating Israel’s military occupation, would only serve al-Haddad’s goal of prolonging the war. It would pair his suicidal path with Netanyahu’s, as both men seem addicted to the zero-sum game of all or nothing. This path will bring them nothing. All senior Hamas leaders abroad are little more than figureheads with no real authority, and any decision they make cannot take effect without al-Haddad’s approval.
Under al-Haddad’s leadership, Hamas is currently operating mainly in the northern sector and around Gaza City. Gaza sources believe he is preparing the remaining Hamas fighters in the north for an incoming Israeli ground incursion. For now, Israel is not expected to launch this operation for at least another month.
Netanyahu may have calculated that an escalated Israeli military offensive in Gaza would reshuffle the regional political deck and possibly derail the international recognition of the State of Palestine at the UN in September.
Those among the Palestinians with a bit of humor have no problem mocking Netanyahu’s policy and relentless drive for revenge over the October 7 attack, saying that he and his friend, President Trump, might go down in history as the two who played a significant role in pushing many Western countries to drop their hesitation and openly recognize the State of Palestine. Some Palestinians believe that not all Western nations want to recognize the Palestinian state out of genuine support for the Palestinian people; for some, it is an inevitable reaction to what Israel has been doing in the Gaza Strip over the past 23 months.
