Lately there has been much talk of ending the war. However, there is no evidence of any meaningful convergence of the protagonists’ aims.
Mr Biden wants to end it on terms as close as possible to Israeli goals so that it does not adversely affect the Democrats’ chances in the upcoming US elections. Overall, the ultimate goal of the American establishment seems to be ensuring the long-term viability of Israel as their Middle East garrison.
The US administration has proposed a ‘bridging solution” without clarifying what that means. This seems to be a ploy intended to showcase the Democratic Party to the American electorate as the party of peace in the Middle East.
The Israeli establishment (Netanyahu) says it aims to eradicate Hamas. The main goal of the Israeli far right seems to be the expansion and eventual annexation of Gaza and the West Bank, and parts of Jordan and Syria, preferably ethnically cleansing the Palestinians from those areas. Tactically, Netanyahu wants the current war to continue until the results of the US elections are determined, resulting (he hopes) in a Trump victory.
Meanwhile, Hamas’ declared aims are the Israeli withdrawal from Gaza and a permanent ceasefire. Their ultimate goal is the establishment of a Palestinian state.
We should not expect much of the current ‘cease fire talks’. Even if somehow they “succeed’, the possibility of war flaring up soon again is very high. As long as Israel dreams of dominating the Middle East, we can expect disastrous wars in our neighbourhood.
For the time being, we continue witnessing the Gaza war and the possible dimensions of its end game. That endgame will give a strong indication of the future of Palestine and, indeed, the Middle East.
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