Seven months after the man-made disaster in Gaza, very little is being done to address the sense of helplessness and anger felt by Palestinians.
International efforts to end the war in Gaza and secure an exchange of hostages and prisoners remain blocked primarily by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court decided to recommend the issuance of an arrest warrant for war crimes for him, his defense minister and three senior Hamas leaders.
The ICC's decision follows a call by the United Nations General Assembly on May 10 for the Security Council to review the resolution calling for the recognition of Palestine as a full member of the United Nations. The Biden administration has already announced the United States' intention to veto such a resolution, insisting that the Palestinian state must be the result of direct negotiations. But Netanyahu has refused to hold direct talks with the Palestinians for more than a decade and has been openly adamant in his rejection of the creation of a Palestinian state.
Pressuring and pleading with Israel to participate in a two-state process in which its current leaders have no interest is a waste of time at this juncture. The international community should seek a different way out of this terrible situation in which innocent Palestinians are being murdered and Israeli hostages, as well as thousands of Palestinian political prisoners, are suffering.
The closure of all political avenues increases the despair of the Palestinians. Even with a ceasefire in place, without the ability to see serious movement toward ending the occupation, anger will fester. Beyond a ceasefire, what is needed is a strong message that it is possible for two independent states to live side by side in peace.
To demonstrate that Washington and the international community mean what they say, concrete steps can be taken to convey this message.
First, an international protection force separating Palestinians and Israelis would change the paradigm of occupation and submission from Palestinians to one of equals, laying the groundwork for a political solution to emerge.
America's allies, both Western and Arab, should be encouraged to commit to investing in the infrastructure needs of the future Palestinian state, including an airport in the West Bank and an expanded port in Gaza. But the first requirement for any such effort is the presence of the international peacekeeping force in both areas. The Gulf States have made it clear that they will not make investments in infrastructure until its durability can be guaranteed.
Although the United States is now unwilling to recognize Palestine, it should use all its influence to ensure that Gaza and the West Bank can function as a unit, that the two territories do not remain separate, and that a settlement freeze is implemented. The movement of people and goods between the two Palestinian areas must be guaranteed.
A nascent Palestinian state must have the means to sustain itself. Instead of Israel supervising border crossings and collecting taxes and customs (although it refuses, for political and ideological reasons, to give the Palestinians their due money), the borders and customs should be handed over to an international body that would collect customs on behalf of the Palestinians until the formalities of state creation can be completed.
Likewise, Gaza and the West Bank need energy and water independence from Israel. Palestinians must be able to dig their own wells and drill for oil off the Gaza Strip. In the immediate term, the Palestinians could benefit from help importing their energy needs from their Arab neighbors, Jordan and Egypt, which have peace treaties with Israel. Jordan already supplies electricity to Jericho in the West Bank; that should be expanded.
There are dozens of ways Western and Arab powers could help build facts on the ground to push the two-state solution they say they support. It will not suddenly appear, in full force, to end the violence and stagnation in the Middle East. Meanwhile, the world community, and especially the United States, must prioritize the rights of the Palestinian people: begin to end Israel's oppressive military occupation, build and sustain the infrastructure of independence, and move toward self-determination.
All that is required is political will on the part of the Biden administration and America's allies.
A ceasefire will come. Then and now, the practical work of creating a Palestinian state alongside a defined and secure State of Israel can and must move forward.
Daoud Kuttab is a Palestinian journalist, former journalism professor at Princeton University and columnist for Al-Monitor. X: @daoudkuttab Topics: @Daoud.Kuttab
