A middle path needed to resolve Israel-Palestine conflict

Pritam Singh

Professor Emeritus, Oxford Brookes Business School

THE Israel-Palestine conflict has been arguably the most intractable conflict in the world ever since Israel was created as a state in 1948 and projected as the homeland of Jewish people from all over the world. The creation of this state was accompanied by the displacement of 7,50,000 Palestinians, the original inhabitants of the place. This simultaneous possession and dispossession created the physical and cultural conditions for an enduring conflict. The dispossessed Palestinians want their homeland decolonised. Jewish settlers perceive Palestinian economy, politics and culture as a persistent threat to the security of the land they have possessed.

The seeming irresolvability of the conflict arises from a combination of two forces: moral and economic-geographical. Both sides claim that morality is on their side. The Jews, especially those who are committed to the Zionist variant of the faith, claim that the persecution of the Jews over centuries — culminating in the Nazi Holocaust that caused the slaughter of six million of them — entitles them morally to have a state of their own where they can be secure from discrimination and persecution. Non-Zionist Jews considered the Zionist perspective as vulgarisation of the faith, but their views were marginalised, especially in light of Holocaust sufferings. The Palestinians claim that they never committed atrocities on Jews and had, in fact, lived in peace with the Palestinian Jews, but they were still punished by being thrown out of their homeland.

The economic-geographic location of Israel in West Asia confounds the conflict. An Oxford geographer once made a pithy remark that has become a quotable quote. He argued that the one who controls West Asia controls oil and the one who controls oil controls the world. West Asia is the most oil-rich region in the world and when petroleum, also called liquid gold, became the critical source of energy for running modern capitalist economies, the US, the UK and France became involved in the region to have access to that liquid gold. The creation of Israel by these powers as their permanent strategic ally in West Asia was aimed to create a firm foothold in this resource-rich region. This strategic alliance is the source of Israel’s military and economic power.

The vulnerability of Israel despite this powerful military-economic alliance lies in its geographic location. It is surrounded by Muslim-majority countries whose populations, if not their autocratic rulers, are deeply sympathetic to the Palestinians. Though some Palestinians are Christians (including the world-famous Palestinian intellectual, the late Edward Said), most are Muslims. Israel’s geographical vulnerability is the Palestinians’ strength.

There are three ‘perfect’ solutions that can be imagined, but none is feasible. The ‘perfect’ solution for the hardcore Zionist Israelis is the complete elimination of all signs of Palestinian life. This is not possible at all because of the growing global revulsion against Israeli bombing of Gaza. The changing global order, with declining military and economic powers of old imperialist countries and the rising economic and military powers of newly emerging economies, means that the global balance of forces is pitted against Israel taking any action remotely resembling annihilation of Palestinians. With not even Europe fully supporting the US-UK stance on Israel, these two powers stand isolated globally.

The ‘perfect’ solution for the hardcore Palestinians is the liquidation of the state of Israel. Hamas, the organisation that carried out the deadly attack on Israeli territory on October 7, is committed to this aim. However unjustified the creation of Israel might be from any point of view, Palestinian or non-Palestinian, the liquidation of the Israeli state is not possible. The global history of at least the last two centuries shows that no state once created has been destroyed. The territory of a state does shrink because of secession of some region from it but the state does not disappear. Russia, Serbia, Pakistan, Indonesia and Ethiopia are some recent examples of this. The Hamas agenda is a dangerous delusion and, therefore, not feasible.

The ‘perfect’ solution from a democratic point of view would be the creation of an integrated Israel-Palestine or Palestine-Israeli state where all citizens — Jews, Muslim, Christians or non-believers — have equal rights and they can, through a democratic process, choose their form of economic governance — capitalist, socialist or social democratic. This certainly is the most sensible way, but let the perfect not be the enemy of the good. This most desirable solution is also not feasible, not only in the immediate future, given the current polarisation, but also in the medium term. This does not, however, mean that the transitional path cannot be imagined. That transitional path is the two-state solution — a sovereign Palestinian state existing alongside the Israeli state. It is a feasible solution. However, it has not been sincerely tried out despite the Oslo Accords, which were the most hopeful sign of progress in this direction.

The learning experience of the two states existing side by side might lead them eventually to build an integrated state — the truly ideal solution.

The immediate need is to take four steps — a ceasefire, release by Hamas of all Israeli hostages, uninterrupted flow of international humanitarian aid into Gaza and complete abandonment by Israel of aerial bombing of Gaza and its stated aim of a ground offensive in Gaza. The emergence of powerful Jewish voices in the US and the UK, especially among the younger generations, against the current and intended military action by the Israeli state in Gaza, and the growing chorus within Israel against the warmonger President Netanyahu, are signs of revival of hope in a seemingly hopeless situation.

India and other countries have a stake in a peaceful West Asia because all past military conflicts in the region have led to a rise in oil prices, inflation and adverse economic conditions, such as the rise of Third World debt in petroleum-importing countries like India after the 1973 oil price rise. This conflict sharply highlights the link between global oil business and military confrontations.

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