No region in the world has ever suffered from the unfairness of the international order, whether multipolar, bipolar or unipolar, more than the Middle East region. This region has been the altar on which the principles of international order were and are sacrificed. Therefore, the situation in the Middle East is a mirror of a failed international community in adhering to its own principles, laws, rules and norms when it comes to the requirements of peace and security in the Middle East. This failure has led to unleashing all kinds of conflicts in the Middle East: political, social, religious, regional and international interferences, and recurring wars. Nowadays, the region is in its latest phase of destructive wars that involve Israel, Palestine, Lebanon, Syria, Yemen and Iran with disastrous implications effecting the whole region. While the deplorable events of the 7th of October 2023 by Hamas mark the continuation of these wars in the region, it was a testimony of this failure by the international and regional actors in tackling the causes of insecurity and instability in the region; the failure in solving the Palestinian issue.
The Grand Failure in Palestine
By the same principles that were behind the creation of the State of Israel in 1948, the Palestinians were deprived of their homeland and denied their basic rights of self-determination and statehood. Britain’s espousal of the Zionist cause led it to abrogate the Mandate responsibility to provide the state of Palestine its rightful sovereignty. For almost eight decades the Middle East has been going from one war to another, from one catastrophe to another, and from one UN Resolution to another; and justice is still elusive. Hypocrisy on the part of great powers that are at the helm of world order and the “vanguards” of its basic principles becomes crystal clear when it comes to the Middle Eastern issues. The Palestinian issue is and will remain the main source of unrest in regional peace and security.
Without a just solution that takes into consideration the legitimate demand of the Palestinians for self-determination this area will never experience stability and will remain exposed to all negative possibilities.
There were many regional and international initiatives and projects presented to solve this protracted conflict and all were doomed due to the faltering of the peace process. Arab countries welcomed the march toward peace which commenced in Madrid 1991 with the hope of solving this conflict within the parameters of international norms and UN resolutions. All initiatives stopped at Israeli doors. Israel is the obstacle to all these efforts.
The perpetuation of this conflict will continue to be a cause of threat to the security and stability of the region, even if Israel and its allies claim that the cause of the region’s instability is otherwise and has no direct relation to the just cause to the Palestinian conflict. The illusion of a solution that does not realize the Palestinians’ national aspirations by having their own state and their right of self-determination will be doomed as the history of the conflict shows.
Wakeup Call: Gaza’s War
Now for almost two years, the Gaza Strip has been under indiscriminate attack by the Israeli army persistently targeting lives, infrastructure, and all elements vital for human survival. This demonstrates a blatant disregard for humanitarian values, norms and laws meant to protect non-combatants including civilians, children, women, and the elderly. Hospitals, schools, and other institutions essential for public life are not spared from this devastation. Israel’s relentless and destructive response to the events of Oct. 7, for which Hamas is accountable, regardless of its motives, epitomizes disregard to international law and world public opinion. This unlawful reaction fundamentally represents a political failure stemming from arrogance and unfounded convictions that led it to ignore the suffering endured by the besieged people of Gaza. Israel perceived an opportunity in the relative calm of the West Bank and the weakened state of the Palestinian Authority to further its agenda of Judaizing Palestine and its sacred sites.
These delusions also led Israel to misconstrue Arab overtures for peace as a sign of waning interest in the primary regional concern, which is the Palestinian cause. It failed to acknowledge that peace, stability, and security in the region hinge upon resolving this just cause. By dismissing both Arab and non-Arab peace initiatives and flouting international resolutions, Israel presumed its policies succeeded in shifting blame onto the victim, leveraging the support of its backers and allies that dominate the international media and decision-making spheres, particularly within Western nations led by the U.S. Alas, Netanyahu now bandies Biblical geographic ambitions to occupy Lebanon, Syria, Iraq to the Euphrates River, Jordan, one third of Saudi Arabia, Egypt to the Nile, as well as all of Palestine. Irrespective of the outcome of this brutal war, Israel cannot evade the repercussions of its prolonged occupation, its arrogance, and its reckless policies against the Palestinian people and their sacred sites. Genocide and ethnic cleansing by Israel will not stand.
The war on Gaza has laid bare the glaring hypocrisy and double standards among the elites of Western nations, particularly the U.S. They have long propagated an image of advancing civilization and a commitment to moral, humanitarian, and legal principles, as well as global peace. This revelation is not new to our region, and it is increasingly becoming apparent to their own people who once believed in these proclaimed values.
Their failure is evident in their positions within the Security Council and the UN General Assembly, overtly supporting the war, and their proposals for resolving the conflict are an embodiment of this significant failure. U.S. policy toward the Palestinian cause is led by Israel, driven by evil extremists' intent on perpetuating massacres and destruction. It is the culmination of 40 years of mismanagement in seeking a resolution. Its stance has merely echoed Israel’s, delaying peace efforts and stalling to establish an irreversible status quo that hinders a just and acceptable resolution for a Palestinian state and self-determination rights. The U.S. Ambassador in Israel echoes the claims of the most extreme Zionist members of the Israeli government that there is no Palestine. Melania Trump’s letter to Putin appealing to him to remember the innocence of the children caught in the midst of the fighting between Russia and Ukraine should have been accompanied by another letter appealing to the Israeli people to remember the innocence of Palestinian children being slaughtered on a daily basis by Netanyahu’s war machine.
Despite vocal support for a two-state solution, the U.S. and the Europeans have not exerted sufficient pressure to move Israel to make it a reality. This war highlights Israel’s reliance on the U.S. as its advocate and guardian, seemingly dictating the latter’s policies to serve its agenda. Thus, the complete responsibility to bring peace to the region and resolve this prolonged conflict that jeopardizes security and stability lies with the U.S. The close bond between the U.S. and Israel has eroded the former’s credibility as a mediator in this cause.
Regardless how this war ends there is no other option to moving toward establishing and recognizing a Palestinian state except by adhering to international resolutions, specifically UN General Assembly Resolution 181 of 1948, and UN Security Council resolutions 242 and 338. Talking without walking by wise world leaders will not bring definitive resolution to the Palestinian issue. It is time to be up to the ideals of a rule-based international order and international law. Failing this time by not being fair to the last colonized indigenous people of Palestine is proof of the fickleness of U.S. policy. Israel is not an exceptional state to escape the dictate of conscience and international law.
Saudi Arabia is Committed to Finding a Just Peaceful Solution
Publicly and privately, Saudi Arabia is committed to finding a just peaceful solution to this conflict. This commitment is not new. The Kingdom supported all international initiatives and all UN Security Council resolutions designed to solve this issue peacefully. It was also the originator of two major regional initiatives, the King Fahad Eight-Point Peace Proposal in 1981, and the King Abdullah Arab Peace Initiative of 2002. The two initiatives were adopted by all Arab States and presented to the world. Israel ignored them completely.
Saudi Arabia still believes in the viability of The Arab Peace Plan as the fairest plan presented so far by all other parties. With France, the Kingdom presented the comprehensive plan to end the war in Gaza, establish a Palestinian state, and go on to comprehensive peace between Israel and its neighbors. However, it will continue to support any initiative that brings about a just solution accepted by the Palestinians. Out of this belief that the two-state solution is the only viable option, the Kingdom is leading with France the efforts to bring the rest of the world to recognize the Palestinian state and to convince those who are not convinced that peace in the Middle East rests on solving this outstanding issue justly.
France has taken the lead among Western countries to bring about justice for the Palestinian people. One must also look with admiration at the millions of people throughout the world who continue to show their support for a free Palestine. That enthusiasm not only pleases the eye, but it also heartens the soul.