Destroying Gaza and killing civilians is not making Israelis safe. These actions will breed more terrorism, across the region and beyond. There is no military solution to this conflict. The violence is already feeding antisemitism and islamophobia, including in the US. Its credibility and interests across the world are at stake. Israeli policies of expanding illegal settlements in the West Bank, and normalizing relations with Arab countries while bypassing the Palestinians, have not made Israelis safe. Successive US governments have been complicit in these failures. The only way to make Palestinians safe is a lasting political solution. It must meet Palestinians’ legitimate aspirations for their state. Long denied during 56 years of occupation, these hopes are fading fast, as innocent Palestinians die in the rubble of Gaza and the stolen lands of the West Bank. For too long the world has spoken of a two-state solution while allowing Israel to build a one-state reality. This has suited extremists who deny the other country’s right to exist. It is time to end the empty rhetoric and implement a serious peace plan that undermines extremists. This plan should answer who runs Gaza next, end Israel’s accelerating annexation of Palestinian land, and address the region’s legitimate security concerns. The US cannot bring peace to the Middle East on its own. It can help build a new coalition for peace, including countries from the region and Europe who want a just settlement. This coalition can restore a political horizon, and rebuild the trust needed for dialogue. Progress will not be easy, or quick. Years of mistrust and violence have left the two peoples unprepared to negotiate. In the face of significant domestic opposition, it will demand enormous political courage from all leaders. Now is the time to start. Help end the Israel-Palestine conflict permanently. As polarization increases, the world needs to set out a vision for peace. That vision must give hope to those who reject extremism and want the violence to end. Set out a serious peace plan, and help build a new coalition for peace to deliver it. It has been a year since the Palestinian genocide started, a year of massacres committed under the unresponsive watch of the international community. Despite the clear proof of human rights violations, world powers have stood by, reluctant or incapable of taking practical steps to halt the carnage. The international reaction has been depressing, with protests calling for a ceasefire just encountered deaf ears. October 7 marked a murky moment when claims made by the highest officials about the attack by Hamas later proved to be obvious lies. This disrespect for truth just fuels the clash, as misrepresentation and propaganda protect the wrongdoers from culpability. Governments across the globe have not noticed the uproar of their people, who have marched in the streets demanding an end to the violence, only to come across with quietness from the very institutions sworn to support justice and peace. The pretense of the West is predominantly conspicuous. Nations that claim to champion human rights, freedom, and morality have done nothing while the terrors in Palestine and now spreading to Lebanon continue to unfold. As a substitute for involvement, we see implied approval, disguised by resonating announcements and empty signals. We are observing a precarious moment in history, a massacre broadcast live on our phones, a vicious truth that the world is selecting to overlook. The intensification of this fight has already begun to twist into a regional war, intimidating to spill over and overwhelm the whole world. The results of this neglect will remain in the memories and history will evaluate those who had the power to act but did not act.
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