What Israel Can Learn from October 7th

The war in the Gaza strip has left 43,000 people–Palestinians and Israelis–dead and over 100,000 wounded. Much of the Gaza strip is destroyed and the war has escalated into a regional standoff between Israel and Iran with Lebanon caught in the crossfire. While talks of ceasefire ebb and flow, a pause in the fighting seems unlikely anytime in the near future. However, as brutal as what happened on October 7th is, it shouldn’t be surprising. The Gaza Strip is perfect ground for extremism and terrorism to develop, with a long history of military conflict, deeply religious population, poor economic development, and oppression from both Israel and Hamas. Rather than addressing the many plights and historical grievances of the Palestinian people, Israel has consistently chosen to ignore one historical narrative in favor of its own. Such hamfisted policy has created greater economic and political disparities between both Israelis and Palestinians and exacerbated a lack of common historical understanding, creating a dangerous cycle of violence against itself and its neighbors. 

The modern history of Israel and Palestine begins with the Nakba, when over 700,000 Palestinians were forced from their homes during the 1948 Arab-Israeli war and the birth of the state of Israel. Scores of Palestinians and Jewish people were killed, villages razed, and the region remade. The brutal attacks conducted by Hamas on October 7th and the current war are directly linked to this history and Israel’s refusal to acknowledge its role in it. Since 1948 the majority of the global Palestinian population has lived in abysmal conditions with high unemployment, malnutrition, difficulty accessing basic necessities such as clean water and electricity, with many Palestinians living as stateless peoples with little to no legal rights. In refugee camps outside of Israel and Palestine, violence, extortion, and exploitation are common, inflamed by the refugees’ lack of legal standing. Inside Israel, Palestianians face a sweeping system of discrimination, including checkpoints, restrictions on Palestinian movement, destruction of homes, and the expansion of Israeli settlements in the West Bank–a practice considered illegal under international law. In many instances, Palestinians cannot use the same roads as Israelis, a small piece emblematic of the larger system meant to disrupt Palestinian freedom of movement between Gaza, the West Bank, and East Jerusalem. 

For a moment, let’s ignore the humanitarian implications of these policies. Doing that, it’s possible to see why such policies make sense from a short-term security perspective for Israel. Disrupting movement and heavily regulating the import of dual-use goods can prevent terrorist organizations like Hamas and Palestinian Jihad from conducting wide-ranging attacks on Israel or Israeli troops inside the West Bank. However, these policies also speak to a lack of forethought about a sustainable future for both Israelis and Palestinians. By codifying and enforcing this system, the Israeli government provides for its short-term security while creating greater radicalism in the Palestinian population who hold legitimate historical and current-day grievances against the Israeli state. From the Palestinian perspective, Israel has slowly but surely clamped down on Palestinian rights, neglected Palestinian quality of life, and conducted itself in a manner antithetical to advancing peace. Rather than co-opting the dynamics that foster extremism–poverty, violence, oppression, and the absence of hope–to create a safer, more humanitarian state, Israel has refused to acknowledge Palestinian history and thus, vital motivating factors for groups like Hamas.

 As the predominant power in the conflict, it is the responsibility of Israel to prioritize the peace process–even in the face of violent resistance. This does not mean Israel cannot defend itself, but it must do so in a manner consistent with international law that will prevent greater radicalization and conflict in the region. Continued stubborn refusal to change course from policies that strangle the Palestinian people will only create more extremism and perpetuate violence in the region. If Israel truly wants to live in peace and safeguard its national security, the Israeli government and Israeli society must acknowledge their modern-day roots and create policy vis-à-vis Palestine that takes history and humanity into account.