[To guarantee a strategic peace, Hamas is indispensable in any
future political paradigm. The 1967 borders mean that Gaza and the
West Bank, like East Jerusalem, should be treated as one territorial
unit, one Palestine for all Palestinians.]
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GAZA FORWARD (HAMAS AT THE TABLE)  
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Dalal Iriqat
January 10, 2024
This Week in Palestine
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_ To guarantee a strategic peace, Hamas is indispensable in any
future political paradigm. The 1967 borders mean that Gaza and the
West Bank, like East Jerusalem, should be treated as one territorial
unit, one Palestine for all Palestinians. _

, This Week in Palestine

 

If Auschwitz archives document the tragedy of human history in the
twentieth century, then what is documented on the Gaza Strip on
television screens in 2023 is the collapse of humanity in the
twenty-first century.

Making comparisons is a learning approach; after all, historical
narration relies on the accounts of historians. Yet when it comes to
lessons learned, this article is inspired by path dependency theory,
which strives to learn from the past in order to prevent the
repetition of past mistakes in terms of atrocities against civilians.
Thus, it asserts that the commitment “Never Again,” stressed and
reiterated regarding the lessons learned from the Holocaust and aiming
to end human sufferings rather than allow massacres and genocide, must
apply to all of humanity, regardless of religion or ethnicity. It must
protect all human beings, Gazans included.

Moreover, we must remember that the United States was not able to
defeat the Taliban in Afghanistan or ISIS in Iraq even though it waged
an insane war and spent countless millions of dollars on weapons and
military equipment. Ultimately, however, the United States resorted to
negotiations to reach a ceasefire and elections to prepare for the
“Day After.” While the war, waged under the pretext of serving to
eliminate terror and bring democracy, caused many tens of thousands of
souls to perish and brought mass destruction, it did not bring about
democracy.

Photo courtesy of Euractiv

To reach the 1988 Good Friday Agreement in Northern Ireland, the
United States and Great Britain had to include Sinn Fein and the Irish
Republican Army because the Irish public agreed to a deal only once
the party’s military wing was included at the negotiating table. The
parties realized that ideologies cannot be killed with bullets.
Thoughts cross geographical borders and span across time, and as long
as oppression exists under occupation, the oppressed will struggle to
gain independence, freedom, dignity, and liberation. This realization
is common sense.

After three months of continuous bombing, the shelling of residential
towers, health and medical facilities, schools, and places of worship,
and indiscriminate operations that have targeted civilians,
journalists, and activists, Israel has not been able to defeat Hamas.
Not because its military might is insufficient. Israel has one of the
most sophisticated armies in the world, aided by strategic, financial,
and weaponry support from superpowers. It is simply because Israel’s
goal is not SMART. As John Whitmore explained, the science of
strategic planning requires SMART goal setting.*1 Israel’s military
goals, however, are neither specific nor measurable, attainable, or
realistic, and they lack a time frame. As Israel aims for destruction,
its goals are quantitative rather than qualitative. Under the watchful
eyes of world military experts hoping to learn about new tools,
Israel’s military leadership is relying on AI-generated tools that
allow it to determine targets more rapidly, on a much wider scale, and
“in a much wider theatre of operations.” In particular, Israel
employs an AI platform called Habsora (lit. “the Gospel”), which
has significantly accelerated “a lethal production line of targets
that officials have compared to a ‘factory.’”*2

The shock doctrine could indeed explain the insanity behind Israel
targeting everything in Gaza. However, with the toll of registered
deaths rising to over 26,000 civilians, almost half of whom are
children, while thousands remain under the rubble,*3 it is time to
apply wisdom as a new paradigm. Hamas cannot be eliminated. This aim
cannot be perceived as a goal; it is simply the pretext for the
revenge that Israel is exacting. Wisdom means that Hamas must be
included at the negotiation table. Whether we like it or not, history
has proven that more inclusive peace processes produce more peaceful
and sustainable agreements. The representatives of the international
community who still advocate for the two-state solution must not
ignore that fact. While Netanyahu is rejecting all peaceful solutions,
he is, in fact, insulting the United States and like-minded countries
that still call for this solution. Wisdom gained from the Northern
Ireland case study shows that in order to reach a sustainable peace
between the two peoples, Hamas is an indispensable actor. Only a
comprehensive framework that includes all parties, with no exception,
can be a hope for future peace deals.

Photo courtesy of Daily Sabah

The rhetoric of “After Hamas” is, in fact, another Machiavellian
tactic for Netanyahu, who procrastinates and buys time for more
annexation, more forced evictions, more settlements, more terror, more
killings, and more detentions. Aided by biased Western media,
Netanyahu has managed to paint the Palestinian right of self-defense
(Article 51 of the United Nations Charter)*4 and right of resistance
as _terror_. While Israel withdrew from Gaza and redeployed 9,000
Israeli settlers, the Strip remained under the total control of the
Israeli occupation authorities. The goal behind the disengagement from
Gaza was not to grant Gaza freedom. As articulated by Ariel Sharon’s
top aide Dov Weisglass, the disengagement was actually meant to ensure
that “there will not be a political process with the
Palestinians.”*5 Today, Israel is using Hamas as a fig leaf for its
annexation efforts, and the rockets of the resistance are labeled
terror. The Israeli withdrawal from Gaza was done unilaterally,
without coordination with the PLO or the PA, and it led to the
institutional and political split and division that has been in
existence for almost two decades. Gaza has faced five major military
raids and incursions since 2007. Hamas relies on rocket fire as a
negotiating tactic to pressure Israel to ease access of goods and
people and loosen the blockade. On the other hand, Israel employs
military might to deter Hamas. These tactics of Hamas and Israel
enabled short-term victories for both at the expense of a long-term
resolution. Uncontested, Palestine lives under a prolonged Israeli
military occupation that must end.*6

This is not a war against Hamas. This is a war against the Palestinian
right to self-determination, a series of war crimes in violation of
Article 49 of the Fourth Geneva Convention. With more than 1.9 million
civilians displaced in Gaza, Israel engages in forced displacement
that amounts to a war crime. An attempt to bring about a second Nakba
in 2023. Parties to the conventions are obliged under Article 146 to
search for criminals and bring them to court.

Israeli settler violence (unchecked, even under the watchful
protection of Israeli soldiers) and military invasions into the West
Bank have led to more than 320 Palestinian deaths in the West Bank
over the past three months. The number of Palestinian prisoners is
mounting and has reached more than 8,000 civilians, 2,200 of whom are
held in administrative detention (without a trial), which is not only
a violation of international law but also proves that Israel is not
targeting Hamas.

Israel was created 75 years ago on the land of Palestine when a
settler-colonial project was kick-started and never put to a halt
under the framework of an illegal military occupation. In Gaza, 2.3
million civilians have been suffering under a deadly blockade for 16
years, during which Israeli military forces waged four wars, and this
is the fifth.*7

Diplomacy and multilateralism have failed humanity in Gaza. Numerous
condemnations by international organizations have fallen on deaf ears
and have not led to actual, concrete changes for Gaza due to the
immense power of the well-organized and amply financed Israeli lobby.
Gaza reconstruction plans that are guided by the rhetoric of
development under occupation cannot be tolerated any longer. As
millions of dollars are funding Israeli missiles, a Marshall Plan for
Gaza is not sufficient; a political path must now come ahead of any
economic one.

The Palestine cause has resurfaced on the global agenda post-October
7. The price is high, and reality is daunting, yet Palestine has not
lost the current war on Gaza despite the huge loss of life. Yet the
emerging political paradigm is essential. Many argue that this is not
the time to talk about the Day After and that we must consider the
options once the war stops.

With a heavy heart, I disagree. Palestine has not lost the war; far
from it, in fact. Moreover, any discussion of the future with an
“after Hamas” undertone is not only a waste of time but malicious.
With these two premises in mind, it is essential that we discuss the
Day After. Major events have already happened, myths and taboos have
been shattered, world opinions have swayed to our advantage in a
manner we never dreamt of, and a new reality is certainly unfolding.
With all due respect, waiting to discuss the Day After until after the
bombs stop dropping is like putting our heads into the sand. We must
discuss a new political paradigm. The Day After includes the need to
discuss the issue of rebuilding Gaza, home to 2.3 million people, and
to find ways to reset and plan to build the Palestinian state in the
making. Inspired by a strategic leadership and inclusive approach, it
is time for PLO brainstorming with Hamas at the table. Polls that
reveal the increasing popularity of Hamas do not necessarily indicate
a favor of the movement’s ideology but rather reflect approval of
its leading and expressing the Palestinian aspirations for freedom.
There is a huge difference between the two, and only ballots shall
determine what the people want.

The Qatari role, from Lebanon to Afghanistan to Venezuela to
Palestine, reflects everyone’s confidence, including the United
States and Israel, which enhances the influence of its increasing role
as a mediator in the region. Doha has increased its impact through its
influence on Islamic movements. As a result, Doha can now serve as a
facilitator or mediator between foreign countries and Islamic
organizations because many countries, even in the region, have no
relationship with these organizations. Doha’s influence on the
success of the peace talks between the United States and the Taliban
gave Qatar more international attention, and this is what we see today
in its dealings with the Hamas file, with full American and Western
blessing.

While a Saudi mega deal might translate under the framework of
Trump’s Deal of the Century, I am afraid that it will lower the bars
under the pretext of ending the bloodshed  and sufferings in Gaza but
at the expense of Palestinian right to self-determination. Qatar is
well placed to mediate a comprehensive, sustainable peace deal. Qatar
continues its diplomatic efforts to renew the truce in Gaza and hopes
to achieve a comprehensive and sustainable agreement that ends the war
and leads to serious talks toward a political process, with talk now
arising about a peaceful path. Doha can play the role of a mediator in
peace talks in the Middle East and achieve what it achieved in
Afghanistan in terms of a ceasefire. The eventual Israeli withdrawal
from the Gaza Strip and all occupied territories will be in accordance
with international legitimacy. I hope that mediation will arrange
elections as it did in Venezuela and Lebanon.

To conclude, I will argue that to guarantee a strategic peace, Hamas
is indispensable in any future political paradigm. Hamas adhering to
the 1967 borders makes it not very different from Fatah. The 1967
borders mean that Gaza and the West Bank, like East Jerusalem, should
be treated as one territorial unit, with one Palestine for all
Palestinians.

*1 Performance Consultants, The Grow Model
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*2 Harry Davies, Bethan McKernan, and Dan Sabbagh, “”The Gospel:
How Israel Uses AI to Select Bombing Targets in Gaza
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The Guardian, December 1, 2023.

*3 X (formerly Twitter), Euro MED monitor
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*4 Charter of the United Nations, —Chapter VIIAction with Respect to
Threats to the Peace, Breaches of the Peace, and Acts of Aggression,
Article 51 [[link removed]].

*5 The Question of Palestine, ”–“Israeli Dis-engagement Plan 
Letter from Palestine
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United Nations, October 8, 2004.

*6 Dalal Iriqat, “75 Years of Ongoing Nakba,” Palestine Israel
Journal, PIJ, May 2023, with the theme “75 Years Palestine
Nakba/Israel Statehood,” vol 28, No. 1 & 2, 2023, pp. 6–15.

*7 “’Timeline: Israels attacks on Gaza since 2005
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Al Jazeera, August 7, 2022.

_DALAL IRIQAT is an associate professor at the Arab American
University – Palestine, AAUP. She has been a weekly columnist at
Al-Quds newspaper since 2016 and was identified as a Young Global
Leader at the World Economic Forum YGL 2021. She is the founding
president of Business and Professional Women BPW Palestine 2022._

_Briefly, Turbo Computers & Software Co. Ltd. ̶ publisher of THIS
WEEK IN PALESTINE ̶ started in September 1985 as a software house.
In 1986 we developed a full-fledged multi-lingual word
processor/typesetter around the (then) new laser printers. We were not
satisfied with what was available on the market as far as word
processors, so we simply built one of our own. It took us almost a
whole year to produce a decent word processor for which we also built
a set of fonts in Arabic; dot by dot. The package was a brilliant and
an affordable solution for those who needed to typeset text in Arabic.
Printers were particularly pleased with the product after realizing
that they could use it to typeset books. Seeing its business
potential, we started to use TurboSet, as we called the product,
ourselves and began to offer layout services, which in turn introduced
us to the design world._

_In the early 1990s we shifted almost totally to being a design firm.
Our technical background, coupled with being blessed with talented
designers, prompted us to cater to the higher end of the market with
designs and creativity that conform to international standards. For
over than two decades now, we’ve been commonly known as Turbo
Design._

_In December 1998, Turbo Design put out the first issue of an
English-language magazine called This Week in Palestine (TWiP).
Twenty-two years later, the magazine is considered to be a major
Palestinian success story and, unfortunately, remains the only
English-language magazine of its kind in Palestine. TWIP ESSENTIALLY
PROMOTES AND DOCUMENTS PALESTINE. In 2006, TWiP became a high-end
brand under which annual agendas, calendars, and posters are
marketed._

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