By: Gašper Blažič
Solving the Middle East conflict, more specifically the Israeli-Arab confrontation, would be almost amusing, if it were not so tragic. I have often compared the civilians in Gaza to the innocent residents of Dražgoše, who, after the partisans’ withdrawal, were left at the mercy of brutal Nazi retaliation.
And all this simply because there must be victims. And in the Arab world too, there prevails a victim mentality, but with the aim that these victims become perpetrators, thereby justifying their violent actions as a form of revenge through ongoing terrorist attacks. That is why it becomes easier to understand why, along with Arab countries, global and Slovenian leftists are strong opponents of the temporary evacuation of Gaza’s population. In reality, they have no genuine interest in preventing bloodshed. Quite the opposite: the more victims there are in Gaza, the more effectively they can point fingers at the Israelis, whom they now openly compare to the Nazis.
For this very reason, it is laughable to listen to the rhetoric of, for example, Prime Minister Robert Golob, Foreign Minister Tanja Fajon, and President Nataša Pirc Musar about the “two-state solution,” which international diplomacy is supposedly preparing as some sort of permanent fix for the Middle East. Of course, under the condition that Western countries, those that have not done so yet, recognise Palestine, something Golob also calls for. At first glance, the “two-state solution” sounds pleasant, almost naïve – as if it is all about peaceful coexistence between Israel and Palestine. But on whose land? The problem is twofold. Israel, established in 1948, was recognised within its existing borders, but was then partially occupied by neighbouring states. In 1967, Israel regained the area known as the West Bank, which had been occupied by Jordan, and the narrative emerged, one still repeated today, that Israel is the occupier of the West Bank. And this is supposed to be the basis for the “two-state solution”: seceding Gaza, the West Bank, and East Jerusalem from greater Israel, thus creating the territory of a new state of Palestine.
There is no need to repeat all the facts from the end of World War II until now regarding Palestine. But it is worth mentioning the Oslo Peace Accord, which was meant to regulate future relations between Arabs and Jews, define the borders of Palestinian autonomy, and establish the so-called right of the Palestinian people to self-determination. However, the agreement was never fully implemented, as a large portion of the pseudo-Arab (“Palestinian”) population opposed it. Nevertheless, Israel later succeeded in reaching peace with Egypt and Jordan, the latter recognising the Jewish state in 1994. In 2020, Israel also signed a peace agreement with the United Arab Emirates, signed on Israel’s behalf by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who expressed great enthusiasm at the time. This agreement signalled that the influence of external actors on the so-called Palestinian question began to decline. No wonder Iran erupted in outrage and began denouncing the deal as extremely harmful, practically a stab in the back of the Palestinians.
To sum up: the idea of two states in the territory of the former British Mandate for Palestine has, in fact, already been realised. In 1946, the majority Arab part east of the Jordan River became the Kingdom of Jordan. Two years later, on the western side, Israel was founded, including non-Jewish residents. Perhaps it is true that the “real” Arabs accepted this state, while resistance primarily came from descendants of the Canaanites and Philistines, and they are now the ones calling themselves Palestinians. And maybe that is also why the neighbouring Arab countries are avoiding them. Not only because they themselves have serious issues with them, but also because the Palestinians serve as a convenient tool to push Israel into the sea. Practically the entire UN now believes that Israel is a “genocidal state,” while at the same time naively nurturing the illusion of a “two-state solution.” Forget it, you will not see that movie. And not so much because of Israel…