Israel’s path towards peace
The war against Hamas and Hezbollah continues in the Gaza strip and in Lebanon. A few days ago, Israel reportedly killed Hezbollah boss Ali Musa Daqduq in Syria. He had been active for years in various terrorist attacks throughout the Middle East including Syria and Iraq. Israel has been successful in eliminate hundreds of leaders of the organizations, but it has come for a hefty price for civilians. It is estimated that about 70% of all dead in the conflict are women and children. Only in Gaza the death toll is around 45,000. Protesters around the world call this a genocide, but Israel and Netanyahu are determined to show the Palestinians a lesson by killing a large number and completely destroy their infrastructure. The underlying goal is to defeat Hamas and Hezbollah and make them irrelevant.
Israel is the U.S. closest ally in the Middle East, but depending on administration, the approach to finding peace in the region has differed. One approach is based on the belief that Israel is the source of regional instability and that the only way to forge peace in the region is for Israel to appease its Arab neighbors. Most of them seek its Israel’s annihilation, which make this approach challenging. During the Biden administration, most Irani sanctions were lifted, enabling the country to get oil revenues and to support terror and ultimately finance the October 7th Hamas attack against Israel. Cycles of U.S.-induced appeasement led to more conflicts and instability, and it has been a vicious cycle for decades. This leaves Israel alone and will no other option than using violence and force to defend the enemies. That is the main reason why Israel will continue fighting wars if needed, as there is no other option as their enemies’ goal is the destruction of their country. Any peace plan should require all sides recognition that the country Israel has the right to exist.
Will the situation in the Middle East change when Trump becomes president? After all, during his previous presidency, it was more or less peaceful there. He has a willingness to recognize Israel as America’s greatest regional ally and even recognized the move of the capital from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. He will have a good partner in Benjamin Netanyahu, despised by the left globally. Trump and Netanyahu have complementary worldviews which resulted in the 2020 Abraham Accords. Their goal was also firm in preventing Iran from becoming a nuclear-armed state. That momentum ended when Biden took office and emboldened Iran and its proxies, leading to the October 7th attack and regional conflicts. Trump’s victory will set a new stage in the Middle East with the focus on the Iranian threat.
Maybe it is time to attack and destroy Iran’s nuclear installations? After all, Iran must be defeated in order to bring peace to the Middle East. Should they ever be able to develop nuclear weapons, there is no doubt they would use it against Israel. With firm U.S. support in the Trump era, Israel will be able to secure peace by controlling Gaza and a security zone in southern Lebanon. It will require Trump to reinstate and if possible, even tighten the enforcement of U.S. economic sanctions on Iranian oil exports.
Without Iran’s nuclear installations, their proxies, or their oil revenues, and faced with an American administration committed to standing with Israel, Iran’s regime will soon lose its grip on power. The long-suffering Iranian people will finally be in a position to overthrow and replace the corrupt extremist regime. With the threat of Iran reduced or even removed, and Israel the unquestioned victor in the war, Trump and Netanyahu will usher in a new era of deeper partnership and peace. This will transform the Middle East from a zone of war and poverty into a region of peace, stability, and prosperity. Only then can Israel start improving relations with the Palestinians, within and outside Israel.