Palestinian leaders have historically made terrible mistakes in political negotiations, sometimes taking unrealistic positions, rejecting sound offers for peace, and even engaging in horrific terrorism but the situation in the Middle East is not a one-sided affair.
As politicians on both sides of the debate cast aspersions on anyone whose view do not align with theirs, it is well worth noting that this situation was created by world leaders who cared very little about the people most intimately involved or the lands that were allocated among them.
The territory fell into the possession of Great Britain at the conclusion of World War I, when the Ottoman Empire ceased to exist. The people included many Jews who survived the Nazi’s methodical extermination program and the Palestinians, a group of Arab Muslims who were not welcome in Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan, Syria or anywhere else.
Palestine was administered by the Ottoman Empire until World War I, and then overseen by the British Mandatory authorities. Israel was established in parts of Palestine in 1948, and in the wake of the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, the West Bank was ruled by Jordan, and the Gaza Strip by Egypt, with both countries continuing to administer these areas until Israel occupied them in the Six-Day War.
Today’s conflict could be called the War Among the Unwanted. If anyone had any sense, these people could recognize their commonalities and coincide in peace, but why digress in fantasy? Suffice it to say that nobody in the world wants either of these peoples and a good number of have been unreasonably hostile to each of the two groups, so they got lumped together where they may comfortably hate each other for no good reason.
There are no angels in this story, and more than a few villains have stubbornly refused to accept victory when it was offered to them because that would mean accepting peace.
The 30th anniversary of the Cave of the Patriarchs massacre raised the sinister connections between Jewish far-right extremism, terrorism, and Israeli military power that came sharply into focus with what might be called ‘Netanyahu’s Final Solution to the Palestinian Problem,’ (פתרון סופי של השאלה הפלסטינית).
On February 25, 1994, Baruch Goldstein, an American-Israeli physician and extremist of the far-right ultra-Zionist Kach movement, opened fire with an assault rifle on Muslims praying in the Ibrahimi Mosque in Hebron. He killed 29 people, some as young as 12 years, and wounded 125.
At its heart, Goldstein’s radicalism is celebrated by Itamar Ben-Gvir, a figure whose rise to prominence represents a disturbing convergence of hate, violence, and political influence as an ally of Likud’s Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu.
Ben-Gvir’s trajectory traces back to the notorious Kach movement, an extremist group banned for its promotion of Kahanism and anti-Arab sentiments.
Kach, founded by the infamous Rabbi Meir Kahane, advocated for the expulsion of Arabs from Israel and the establishment of a Jewish theocratic state.
It was in this toxic environment that Ben-Gvir found his ideological footing, embracing the vitriolic rhetoric and violent tactics espoused by the group.
Once convicted of supporting the Kach terrorist group, Ben-Gvir was known to have in his living room a portrait of the mass murderer Goldstein that he removed only after he entered politics.
Today, Ben-Gvir serves as the leader of Otzma Yehudit, also known as Jewish Power, a political party that proudly carries the torch of Kahanism and anti-Arabism.
Under his leadership, Otzma Yehudit has emerged as a formidable force in Israeli politics, winning six seats in the Knesset and exerting significant influence within the ruling coalition.
But Ben-Gvir’s ties to extremism extend beyond his own political party.
He is a settler in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, a territory synonymous with tension, conflict, and human rights abuses. His close association with radical elements within the Israeli settler movement further underscores his commitment to a supremacist agenda at the expense of Palestinian rights and dignity.
Although their presence is illegal under international law, there are in total over 450,000 Israeli settlers residing in the West Bank, excluding East Jerusalem, with an additional 220,000 Israeli settlers residing in East Jerusalem. Additionally, over 25,000 Israeli settlers live in Syria’s Golan Heights. Territories acquired by force during the 1967 Six-Day War are not recognized as being under Israeli sovereignty.
As Minister of National Security, Ben-Gvir oversees the Israeli police, prisons, national fire and rescue services, border guards, National Headquarters for the Protection of Children on the Internet, National Authority for Community Safety, and the Authority for Witness Protection.
He bears unmistakable similarities to the character Dr. Strangelove, in the movie that satirized the real-life absurdities of the Cold War, but he who closely imitates the enigmatic scientist in the art is neither as funny nor as razor-sharp as the man who plan to end the world was fictitious.
Moreover, Ben-Gvir’s rise to power parallels the trajectory of Likud, Israel’s dominant right-wing political party, which is led by the current Prime Minister, Netanyahu.
Likud, founded by Menachem Begin, himself a former leader of the militant Irgun organization responsible for the bombing of the King David Hotel, has long been a breeding ground for nationalist fervor and hawkish policies.
The parallels between Ben-Gvir and Netanyahu, are striking.
Both men have leveraged extremism and fearmongering to solidify their grip on power, perpetuating a cycle of violence and oppression that has claimed the lives of thousands of innocent civilians, including over 13,000 children since October 7 alone.
Since October 7, Israeli attacks have killed at least one Palestinian child every 15 minutes, while thousands more in the Gaza Strip are missing, most of them likely under the rubble and presumed dead.
The Cave of the Patriarchs massacre serves as a chilling reminder of the consequences of unchecked extremism.
Yet, instead of learning from the mistakes of the past, Ben-Gvir and Netanyahu have embraced a politics of hate and division, prioritizing their narrow interests over the well-being of their constituents, world peace, and human decency.
Netanyahu promoted Hamas because that reduced the chance that stability would enable Fatah, the successor to Yasser Arafat’s political movement, to achieve the genuine command, control, and dominion necessary to conduct affairs as the Palestinian Authority, which would eventually lead to an independent Palestinian state. This was viewed as a necessity because otherwise that stability might become peace and prosperity for his neighbors, who might potentially become military rivals.
Netanyahu’s strategy mitigated the chance of war in the future by ensuring it right now. And of course, the fact that things worked out exactly as anyone could have predicted has resulted in such anger that the only reasonable course of action seems to be killing every Palestinian, from the terrorists who retaliate against religious insults, economic oppression, and outright apartheid to the woman and children whose suffering in poverty simply had not been bad enough. At least in Netanyahu’s mind and those of his barbaric political allies.
As the world mourns the victims of past atrocities and confronts the realities of present-day extremism, we must hold accountable those who seek to sow discord and perpetuate violence in the name of ideology. There is no justice here but there may be peace, someday.
The future of the region, and possibly the world, depends on humanity’s willingness to confront extremism in all its forms and to stand up for justice, equality, and peace. These are not popular ideas, but it would be wise to put aside emotion and pursue sanity.
Anything less would be a betrayal of the memory of those who have suffered at the hands of hatred and a tacit endorsement of the intolerance used to justify the slaughter of children.