Poll: A Two-State, One-State, or Some Other State Solution: Which Will Most Likely Bring Peace?

If possible, please 

• Vote
• Kindly share. 
• Explain your views in the comments. 
• Provide links if you are proposing new ideas.

Which solution is more likely to bring peace:
A Two-State solution (a Palestinian State side by Side with an Israeli State)
One-State Solution (Both Israelis and Palestinians have equal rights and live together in a one democratic and secular state)

— Wael Nawara (@WaelNawara) May 25, 2024

Israel Faces Tough Choices (Updated)

Updated 25 May 2024

Israel Faces Tough Choices

In a previous article, I suggested that Israel has lost the war. Truth of the matter is, Israel has lost much more than that. Israel has lost its ability to fineness its way and hide its crimes. This time things just went out of control. No hasbara, no matter how good, could do the trick. It is now very difficult to see a viable path forward. And it is even tougher to write about one.

More Bad News

The last few days carried very bad news for Israel. 
Somehow, Hamas has managed to regroup its forces in the North (in areas which Israel had bulldozed) and the Middle of Gaza and has been attacking Israeli forces with devastating blows.
Israeli losses are huge. And things seem to be getting worse, not better. The situation, militarily and strategically, is untenable. This must have contributed to why Gallant has made this speech.
The only achievement which Israel has been able to do, was to destroy Gaza, kill and injure over 110,000 people, majority are women and children, which has turned the world public opinion against it and sent it to the International Court of Justice and ICC.

But that's not all. The UN General Assembly voted with a landslide majority to recommend that the Security Council reconsiders Palestine's application for  membership and has granted Palestine more rights and privileges. The world body approved the resolution by a vote of 143-9 with 25 abstentions.

But just when you think things could get any worse for the apartheid state, the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, Karim Khan, announced that he is seeking arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant, prime minister and minister of defense of Israel. Many European countries, traditionally faithful allies of Israel, had to adhere to their obligations and announced that that they will comply with the ICC arrest warrants, if such are indeed are issued by the judges. 

As if all this was not enough, Ireland, Spain and Norway just announced that they are recognizing Palestine as a state.

Only 4 days later, the International Court of Justice ordered Israel to immediately halt its Rafah military offensive, withdraw its troops, and open the crossings for humanitarian aid and assistance.

This may be the worst May which Israel has witnessed in its short history. The Month of May is when Israel commemorates its 'independence', and the founding of the state.

A Strategic Defeat

Strategically, Israel has been utterly defeated. A total defeat which will shake its very foundations for years, if any. I came to that conclusion because:

• Israel has failed to implement the "final solution" (ethnic cleansing of Gaza through pushing Gazans into the Sinai desert), after Egypt fortified the borders and announced that this will be a red line. Breaching that red line may lead to revoking the Peace Treaty.
• Israel has failed to destroy Hamas. As Israel pushes to the South, Hamas regrouped in the North and the Middle of Gaza.
• Israel has failed to free the hostages. Israel has killed more of its hostages than it has managed to release.
• Strategically, Israel has lost the world's public opinion. The global protests and condemnations, student encampment, and a social media sentiment of about 9:1 against Israel, all point to colossal strategic defeat and very hard times ahead. In fact, Israel's legitimacy, its very existence, is now being questioned.

With these difficult circumstances, Israel was facing very tough choices. But since the last article, more bad news for Israel has emerged.

The Final Solution

To keep his government afloat (and stay out of jail), Netanyahu had to subscribe to the right wing's dream (or nightmare) of the final solution. Ben Gvir and those on his bandwagon, believe that Palestinians must leave. At least to them this campaign is not really about Hamas, Oct 7 or even the hostages. It's about completing the job of ethnic cleansing which started in 1948. Their hope is that with enough pressure, Egypt will open the borders and let them in. They said it publicly so many times. They even suggested that the move will be temporary. But Palestinians of course know, once they are out, they will never see their homes again. Most residents of Gaza are themselves refugees and the descendants of those ethnically cleansed before from other parts of Palestine.

Why Rafah?

Why does Israel insist on invading Rafah, despite many reasons against the invasion:

• It is a very small area, crowding in it are almost one and a half million people. Most of them already evacuated from the North of Gaza or other places. The human cost will be catastrophic, further isolating Israel and entrenching its position as a pariah state.  
• Hamas has already regrouped in the North. So, why would Israel go after them in the South?
• The whole world is warning Israel not to do it. Even Biden stopped one arms shipment as a result of Netanyahu's stubbornness on the Rafah issue.

In my opinion, the reason why Israel is determined to invade Rafah, can be understood from its 1948 ethnic cleansing tactics. A village would be attacked from 3 directions, leaving a safe exit which the evicted residents could take, usually pointing to the nearest border.  
It is the same with Rafah. Rafah is the closest point in Gaza to the Egyptian border. By intensifying the attacks on Rafah, a humanitarian catastrophe will unfold, and Egypt will find itself forced to open the borders for humanitarian reasons. At least, this is what the 
settler extremists were hoping for.

Egypt Refused to 'Play Ball'

But Egypt 'refused' to play ball, and instead, announced that this is a red line not to be crossed. Crossing that line will mean suspending or revoking the Peace Treaty and worse. Egypt has since intervened in the ICJ genocide case, joining South Africa. Egyptian officials also made sure to clearly communicate the message to the Americans and Europeans. Pushing Gazans into Sinai is not to happen. 

What Comes Next?

With an arrest warrant, Netanyahu's position has become untenable. And since Gallant may also be expecting an arrest warrant, both have become toxic assets.

Can Gantz fill that void? Doubtful. Gantz seemed to have aligned himself with Biden and the polls show that if elections are held in Israel he would win, but who will call for elections?

Ben Gvir and Smotrich seem to cling to the "final solution" scenario, but with the entire world now looking at the ICJ genocide case and Netanyahu/Gallant potential arrest warrants, it is virtually impossible to actually implement their ethnic cleansing plans.

Israel will be facing turbulent times. It could even descend into a civil war. Ben Gvir has been arming and emboldening the settlers. This is why they attack Palestinians in the West bank and assault the aid trucks. It will be a tough job for the next government to stop them now.

In a way, the Israeli government is already divided.  While one part of the government attempts to find ways for food and aid to get into Gaza to keep their promises to the Americans (in order to maintain the flow of arms shipments, much-needed by the army which is facing unprecedented losses), another part (Ben Gvir et al), are supporting settlers who are vandalizing and burning the aid trucks.

The coming days may be carrying big changes. But we just have to wait and see what actually comes next.

ذكريات الماضي الجليل وأحلام العـيش الجميل

 دون ما وجهة معينة

من ذاكرة الأب

 

في القبور

تحركت العظام

ونادت الأرض

تطلب الانتقام

 

الطنين

 

خرجت أروح عن نفسي

أحاول أن أنسى الحنين

ولكن النداء ظل يدوي

في أذني مثل الطنين

 

نظرت في وجوه الناس

فوجدتها

مصبوغة بلون داكن

مزيج بائس من العرق والتراب

خليط قذر من اليأس والاكتئاب

 

وتفحصت تراب الأرض

هو طاهر

نظيف

إلى أن تدنسه خطايانا

عجزنا .. جبننا وأطماعنا

لقاءات مع شيخ القبيلة 1

 

سمعت عن القبيلة وعن شيخها

تجاعيد عميقة في وسطها

مدفونة عيناه مغلقتان

 

إلى حيث تأخذنا

 

تأخذنا أقدامنا

تخبرنا قلوبنا

عن المكان

 

ونذهب

يحدونا الأمل

نقرأ ونكتب

ونتحدث طوال النهار

ومعظم الليل

عما يجب أن يكون

 

وقبل أن أدخل الفراش

جاء الصبي يسأل

من ننتظر يا أبتاه؟

ليصنع كل الذي فيه تتناجون

فأطرقت في خجل وسكون

ماتت قلوبنا

أسرعنا في الخطى

دون ما وجهة معينة

فأخذتنا أقدامنا

إلى حيث النسيان

والمجون

 

لقاء 2

 

سألت الشيخ عن أبنائه

أين ذهب شباب القبيلة

أطفالها ونساؤها؟

ودون  أن يفتح عينيه

مد أطراف يديه

مرتعشة يحدوها الأمل

وتحسس وجهي

وأطلق زفيراً

 

الشاشات ذات الوميض 2

 

تبهرنا الأضواء

ونستمتع بمشاهدة

الشاشات ذات الوميض

تخدرنا لقاءات ساحرة

بفتيات ونساء بيض

وأبطال يقفزون في سيارات فارهة

تشي بثراء عريض

وأحياناً

لا نكتفي بمجرد المشاهدة

تزورنا خيالات رائعة

ونستعيد المشاهد والروائح

والملمس الطري لأجساد مائعة

ونعيش بطولات زائفة .. ولكن ممتعة

 

صحوة

 

وفي أحد الأيام

صحا الصبي مبكراً

ونظر حوله متذكراً

فلم يعجبه ما رأى

وهز رأسه مستنكراً

استفزه العجز .. الفشل .. الظلم والطغيان

 

قام الفتى قومة هائلة

حطم الأصنام

والمقاعد والشاشات

والأكواب والزجاجات

وحرك عقارب الزمان

وأمسك بمفاتيح المكان

ووضعها بين يديّ

في إعزاز وانتظر

 

ثم رنا إليّ متعجباً

 

… … …

يوم الحصاد

 

ابتلت الأرض

وانتظرنا أن يخرج الزرع

انتظرنا ليوم الحصاد

وحينما جف الضرع

وجمنا متسائلين ؟

 

جاء الصبي وجرابه فوق ظهره ... ملآن

 

ونظر إلينا

وضحك

ساخراً؟ .. لا .. آسفاً . . لا لا .. متألماً ..

ومال كفه في بطء

لتتناثر البذور من راحته

وجال ببصره في المكان

 

كأنه يختزن ما يرى

 

وأدار ظهره وذهب

 

 

… … …

… … …

… … …

 

وانتظرنا أن يعود

لقاء 3

 

همست في أذن الشيخ

أسأله عن الصبي

لابد أنه

قد أصبح الآن رجلاً

يافعاً و ... عاقلاً

 

وعلى تراب الأديم

جلست تحت قدميه

واستحلفته بالله العظيم

أن يدلني عليه

 

لقد اشتقت إليه

واشتقت أكثر إلى نفسي

عندما ترنو إلى عينيه

 

 

ولكن الشيخ

أشاح عني بوجهه

وتسللت دمعة تبحث عن طريقها

بين الأخاديد تائهة

 

واجتاحتني الغيرة

من تظن نفسك أيها الشيخ الغريب؟

لم َتبكي من ليس لك بقريب؟

إنه ولدي أنا

ولأول مرة

فتح الشيخ عينيه

وفجأة أدركت أنني

لم أعد أستطيع

حتى البكاء

 

صعقتني نظرات الشيخ الجامدة

باتهامات قاسية ظالمة

 

دون ما وجهة معينة

 

وتتابعت صور الماضي

تدك رأسي بأثقال

تنوء بها الجبال

ولم أقو على الاحتمال

 

فعدوت

عدوت بكل قوتي

دون ما وجهة معينة

 

جلباب رائع يليق بمأتم الصبي

 

جلست أستريح

جاءت أمي وأمه

نظرت إلي متسائلة

فتظاهرت بالغباء

وأعطيتها لفافة مفضضة

بها جلبابٌ رائعٌ

من الحرير الأسود

علامات الرضا العميق

 

أقمنا السرادق العظيم

وصدحت أصوات القارئين

بآيات من الذكر الحكيم

وجاء العمدة يتقدم المعزين

 

شد على يدي وقال

لقد فعلنا ما بوسعنا

بذلنا كل ما نستطيع

وسمعنا رأي الجميع

ولكن السلامة في التعقل

من منكم يقدر عليهم؟

 

بشاشاتهم ذات الوميض

ورجالهم ذوي الصدر العريض

وعطر نسائهم البيض

 

فأطرقنا جميعاً ساكنين

وأطلقنا زفرات الضيق

وكان السكون في برنا

من علامات الرضا العميق

...

...

وتذكرت يوم رأيت

في عين الصبي ذاك البريق

وتمنيت أن أهتدي

يوماً إلى ذات الطريق

Israel Faces Tough Choices. Change of Government and or Direction is Inevitable

 

Updated 18 May, 2024

After Gallant, Gantz came out today criticizing Netanyahu, saying that the current 'farce' must end and demanded a six-point plan to be laid out by June 8. He also emphasized the importance of reaching diplomatic relations with Saudi Arabia and a fair system for military draft. This implies that Gantz supports a Palestinian State, since Saudi Arabia made it abundantly clear that no relationship with Israel can happen without a clear path to Palestinian statehood. A new poll shows that Gantz is now ahead of Netanyahu among Israelis. Gantz' visit to the US in March was seen as a gesture that the US was no longer supporting Netanyahu and encourages a change of government in Israel. A few days later Schumer gave his famous speech in the Congress where he said that Netanyahu was an obstacle to peace, that he had lost his way and that he no longer fits Israel's needs. Schumer is the most senior Jewish politician in the US and a long-time supporter of Israel and Netanyahu.
Two days ago,  Gallant, Israeli minister of defense delivered a once-in-a-lifetime speech in a news conference. His words were somber and alarming. (Watch from 10:40 and turn cc subtitles on. It's not accurate but you will get the picture).

This is our duty and responsibility to lead the country to a better place NOW. The State must make difficult decisions by prioritizing the national consideration over any other consideration, even if it involves personal or political costs .This is a moment of national test. The people of Israel are looking up to us and expect us to make the right decisions.

Is Gallant asking Netanyahu to resign? 

Since Gantz' visit to the US, and Schumer's famous speech criticizing Netanyahu, there has been rumors of American-led attempts to oust Netanyahu, who has put his political (and legal) survival above all else. To keep Ben Gvir and the rest of his extremist coalition onboard in the government, he has been appeasing them, with genocidal consequences.

Israel Faces Tough Choices

In a previous article, I suggested that Israel has lost the war. Truth of the matter is, Israel has lost much more than that. Israel is lost. It is very difficult to see a viable path forward. And it is even tougher to write about one.
Israel has been utterly defeated. A total defeat which will shake its very foundations for years, if any. I came to that conclusion because:

• Israel has failed to implement the "final solution" (ethnic cleansing of Gaza through pushing Gazans into the Sinai desert), after Egypt fortified the borders and announced that this will be a red line. Breaching that red line may lead to revoking the Peace Treaty.
• Israel has failed to destroy Hamas. As Israel pushes to the South, Hamas regrouped in the North and the Middle of Gaza.
• Israel has failed to free the hostages. Israel has killed more of its hostages than it has managed to release.
• Strategically, Israel has lost the world's public opinion. The global protests and condemnations, student encampment, and a social media sentiment of about 9:1 against Israel, all point to colossal strategic defeat and very hard times ahead. In fact, Israel's legitimacy, its very existence, is now being questioned.

With these difficult circumstances, Israel was facing very tough choices. But since the last article, more bad news for Israel has emerged.

The Final Solution

To keep his government afloat (and stay out of jail), Netanyahu had to subscribe to the right wing's dream (or nightmare) of the final solution. Ben Gvir and those on his bandwagon, believe that Palestinians must leave. At least to them this campaign is not really about Hamas, Oct 7 or even the hostages. It's about completing the job of ethnic cleansing which started in 1948. Their hope is that with enough pressure, Egypt will open the borders and let them in. They said it publicly so many times. They even suggested that the move will be temporary. But Palestinians of course know, once they are out, they will never see their homes again. Most residents of Gaza are themselves refugees and the descendants of those ethnically cleansed before from other parts of Palestine.

Why Rafah?

Why does Israel insist on invading Rafah, despite many reasons against the invasion:

• It is a very small area, crowding in it are almost one and a half million people. Most of them already evacuated from the North of Gaza or other places. The human cost will be catastrophic, further isolating Israel and entrenching its position as a pariah state.  
• Hamas has already regrouped in the North. So, why would Israel go after them in the South?
• The whole world is warning Israel not to do it. Even Biden stopped one arms shipment as a result of Netanyahu's stubbornness on the Rafah issue.

In my opinion, the reason why Israel is determined to invade Rafah, can be understood from its 1948 ethnic cleansing tactics. A village would be attacked from 3 directions, leaving a safe exit which the evicted residents could take, usually pointing to the nearest border.  
It is the same with Rafah. Rafah is the closest point in Gaza to the Egyptian border. By intensifying the attacks on Rafah, a humanitarian catastrophe will unfold, and Egypt will find itself forced to open the borders for humanitarian reasons. At least, this is what the 
settler extremists were hoping for.

Egypt Refused to 'Play Ball'

But Egypt 'refused' to play ball, and instead, announced that this is a red line not to be crossed. Crossing that line will mean suspending or revoking the Peace Treaty and worse. Egypt has since intervened in the ICJ genocide case, joining South Africa. Egyptian officials also made sure to clearly communicate the message to the Americans and Europeans. Pushing Gazans into Sinai is not to happen. 

More Bad News

The last few days carried very bad news for Israel. 
Somehow, Hamas has managed to regroup its forces in the North (in areas which Israel had bulldozed) and the Middle of Gaza and has been attacking Israeli forces with devastating blows.
Israeli losses are huge. And things seem to be getting worse, not better. The situation, militarily and strategically, is untenable. This must have contributed to why Gallant has made this speech.
The only achievement which Israel has been able to do, was to destroy Gaza, kill and injure over 110,000 people, majority are women and children, which has turned the world public opinion against it and sent it to the International Court of Justice and ICC.
To make things even worse, the news suggest that International Criminal Court (ICC) may issue arrest warrants against Israeli officials, which made several US congressmen send official letters carrying threats to the court to deter them from indicting the Israelis.
But that's not all. The UN General Assembly voted with a landslide majority to recommend that the Security Council reconsiders Palestine's application for  membership and has granted Palestine more rights and privileges. The world body approved the resolution by a vote of 143-9 with 25 abstentions.

What Comes Next?

With this move which Gallant took, it is possible to see a change in government in Israel sooner rather than later. Gallant seems to have aligned himself with Biden, and Gantz is the likely successor of Netanyahu,  possibly through a vote of no confidence - which requires no elections.
There will be trouble with Ben Gvir and Smotrich who are leading the Great March to Gaza enact the "Final Solution". What comes next will depend on whether a Gallant-Gantz alliance with US support will be able to control Ben Gvir and his allies and armed militias. If they fail, Israel could be facing turbulent times. It could even descend into a civil war. Ben Gvir has been arming and emboldening the settlers. This is why they attack Palestinians in the West bank and assault the aid trucks. It will be a tough job for the next government to stop them now.
In a way, the Israeli government is already divided.  While one part of the government attempts to find ways for food and aid to get into Gaza to keep their promises to the Americans (in order to maintain the flow of arms shipments, much-needed by the army which is facing unprecedented losses), another part (Ben Gvir et al), are supporting settlers who are vandalizing and burning the aid trucks.

The coming days may be carrying big changes. But we just have to wait and see what actually comes next.

إعادة ترتيب المكان

كانت في بيتها
تعد طعام العشاء لأطفالها
طرقوا الأبواب
فتحت مرحبة بالركبان

أعطتهم من خير البيت
فأكلوا
وشربوا
وتجشأوا
لكنهم لم يشبعوا

ظلوا يأكلون
ويشربون
لكنهم لم يشبعوا

أمرهم كبيرهم
خلسة
بأن يجمعوا من المنزل كل نفيس
ثم قرروا أن يقضوا منها وطراً

سدوا الكوات والنوافذ
كمموا أفواه الصبيان
كبلوا الأيادي والأبدان

تكأكأوا عليها بليل
حاصروها
أوقعوها
وحاولوا أن يواقعوها
في بيتها غصبا

نظرت إلى السماء
نظرة تساؤل
لم تنظر لهم
ولم تلمهم
للحظة واحدة

وفي محاولة أخيرة
للخلاص
ركلت موقد الكيروسين
بقدمها

اندلعت النار
في الوقود المسكوب
وانقض الحريق
كالقدر المكتوب

تراقصت ألسنة اللهب
وتصاعد الدخان
خرجوا مسرعين
يتعثرون في سراويلهم
والنار تمسك بأجسادهم
مثل كرات مشتعلة
تشق حلكة الظلام

وفي لحظات
تجمعت السحب
واصطخب الرعد
أمطرت السماء
كما لم تمطر من قبل
في تلك القرية الصغيرة
تطفئ النيران
وتغسل الأدران

وقفت الجموع حاسرة
في ترقب أمام بيتها
.
.
.
خرجت بصغارها
من وسط الحطام
نظرت للسماء
في ثقة وامتنان
غطت رأسها
مسحت على رءوس أطفالها
وابتسمت للجيران

ثم بدأت تعيد ترتيب المكان

حكايات بر سعيد

ديون للعم

 بَر سعيد

في "بر سعيد" ..

دارت معركة

وتساقط الشهداء

ولكن الراية

ارتفعت في النهاية

 

كان ذلك منذ وقت بعيد

وجاء زمن العصر الجديد

ومعه سفن تطفو بالحديد

تلقى بمراسيها عند "بَر سعيد"

 

لماذا اختاروا تلك القرية؟

بأي وجه صفيق بأية فرية؟

 

أيها العم الجليل

يا من أنت في عمر أبي

يا من أطلق نسوراً

وصواعق وجسوراً

 

هل نبهت أهل البر

وزجرت دعاة الشر

 

خطاب إلى أهل البر

خرجت الكلمات جوفاء خاوية

من المعاني

ونُصبت الألعاب مريحة ملهية

مثل الأماني

 

أفراح السقيا

ومع أول سفينة

توقعنا الخراب

يحل بالمدينة

يسويها التراب

 

ولكن رجالاً ذوي منكب عريض

صدورهم شاشات ذات وميض

نزلوا مبتسمين

يلوحون برايات الصداقة

 

وازدحم الميناء بالصفوف

ممن أرادوا الرؤيا

وجاء العساكر بالدفوف

ينظمون السقيا

 

وبعد أن تلقى الجميع الجرعة الكافية

وشخصت أبصار أهل البر لاهية

 

مد الرجال أيد مصنوعة من الحديد

تهصر كفوف أطفال "بَر سعيد"

 

وتلقيهم جانباً

خاوين من الروح

 

أيها الأب المبجل لا تستمع

لأقاويل الصداقة أو تنخدع

 

أحلام العيش الجميل

ومع السفينة الثانية

تعالى التهليل

قناطير الغلال تدفقت

بالعيش الجميل

وانطلقت الزغاريد مدوية

 

لطالما اختلط قمحنا بالتراب

وشب الصبي أسمر وفي دمه

تجري حبات من أرضنا

 

ولكن

الخبز النظيف لا يُقاوم

أبيض مثل صدور النساء الرائعة

نزلن تتلوى أجسادهن

من السفينة الثالثة .. والرابعة

 

والسادسة

والسابعة

 

من يصدق هذا العبط ؟

أية أريحية أي لغط

يجعل كرم الغرباء

يأتي بكل هذه الأشياء ؟

 

في "بر سعيد"

نُصب سوق نخاسة جديد

وجاءت السفن من بعيد

تلقي الخبز لمن يريد

ثم تربط بالسلاسل العبيد

 

الشاشات تغزو البر 1

 

ولما خرج الأمر عن المعقول

ولم تعد الشاشات الصغيرة كافية

قامت شاشات عملاقة مثل الغول

حتى تشاهدها الجموع الماضية

 

في كل ميدان

وأينما يتجه البصر

يجد شاشة ذات الوميض

تغطي مجال النظر

 

وأصبح من المعتاد

أن نصحو في الميعاد

لنطالع الشاشات

ونتلقى التعليمات

 

في كل بيت

في كل نجع

في كل غرفة

تجد الجمع

شاخصاً ببصره يتلقى الوميض

من السواحل وإلى الصعيد

 

تتفتح أعين الأطفال

الخائفة

على مغامرات الأبطال

الزائفة

 

مجلبات السرور 

وفي الأسواق

تزوغ الأبصار

سلع

عطور

مساحيق

شرور

ولكنها جميعاً

أمور تجلب السرور

للنفوس المتعطشة

... ... ...

... ... ...

والآن

تسألوني عن الصبي وأين ذهب؟