October 7, 2023 is a shock that will mark Israeli society for a long time. The Hamas terrorist attack, which left more than 1,200 victims, 251 hostages (dozens of whom are still detained in Gaza), traumatized the nearly 10 million Israelis, the Jewish communities, and many others. beyond. Benjamin Netanyahu responded with an unprecedented military operation, proclaiming a dual objective.
First, eradicate Hamas. The Israeli Prime Minister, critic of the Oslo Accords, nevertheless publicly declared that it was necessary to support the Islamist movement to weaken the Palestinian Authority and undermine the two-state solution. The second objective was to ensure the security of its people, after having faced powerful internal opposition for many months against its authoritarian justice reform. This is not the case. The situation has escalated and his scorched earth policy is causing instability throughout the region.
Over the past year, Israel’s right to security has been transformed into the methodical destruction of Gaza. More than blind revenge, we are witnessing a plausible risk of genocide. The deluge of bombs on the Palestinian enclave is mixed with epidemics and famine; the cynical weapons used by the Israeli far-right government make this strip of land that has become a mass grave unlivable. Exhausted after twenty years of inhumane blockade, the Gazan population is now experiencing hell. Abuses, violence and expropriations have intensified in East Jerusalem and the West Bank.
A powerful movement of solidarity has arisen around the world, demanding an immediate ceasefire, the release of hostages and a diplomatic path to peace. In France, young people – who must be saluted – march every week to demand peace, despite attempts at demonization or bans on meetings and demonstrations. Anti-Semitic acts have unfortunately exploded over the past year and we condemn them without reservation. But they cannot be used to discredit those who refuse the warlike headlong rush.
If October 7 certainly marks a turning point, this date is not the beginning of what we call the Palestinian question. It has been taking root for decades in one of the last colonial situations in the world. The Palestinian people suffer from apartheid and colonization in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, the blockade in Gaza and the oblivion of four generations of refugees in camps scattered across the region. How can we not also mention the large-scale imprisonment of political prisoners, including Marwan Barghouti, a symbol of unbearable arbitrariness.
The asymmetry is obvious between a people who have a state and advanced military technology thanks to their Western sponsors, and another without land, who are denied the right to have their own state.
The impunity of successive Israeli governments, which have trampled on more than 200 UN resolutions for decades, demonstrates the need to rethink the international system. Netanyahu is now working to regionalize the conflict by attacking Lebanon and, perhaps, tomorrow Iran, with immeasurable consequences. The only way to ensure the security of the two peoples, and that of the entire region, is the recognition of a Palestinian state alongside the Israeli state within the 1967 borders.
We must reopen the path to peace, which is not a utopia, but a necessity for the people and a political project. To do this, we must start by silencing the weapons, by suspending their deliveries, but also trade agreements to force the Israeli government to comply with international law.
The question of sanctions should no longer be a taboo subject. Legal steps, such as the instruction of the International Court of Justice or requests for an international arrest warrant against Israeli and Hamas leaders must be supported. This is essential to put an end to double standards on the international scene.
France must find an original voice in the concert of nations. After imagining a “grand international military coalition against terrorism” almost a year ago, which left even the most warlike minds speechless, President Emmanuel Macron took a strong position in recent days by calling for an end to the delivery of weapons.
It is urgent that words be transformed into actions. So that peace is no longer a distant horizon, we must urgently take a political initiative: that of finally recognizing the Palestinian State, an essential first step in building a shared humanity.
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