The courage to do the simple thing - and stop the right-wing lie

By: Avraham Borg

Walla website, 16.5.2025

Between Jerusalem and New York, via Paris and Riyadh, a new political bridge is being forged that is restoring the spirit of a real solution to the conflict. The French-Saudi initiative places the Palestinian state as a starting point - not a distant destination - and marks a profound change in a paradigm that has failed. The world is beginning to understand: reality can no longer be ignored.

Last week, thousands of peace activists gathered in Jerusalem with a simple message: The camp is alive, exists, and is more convinced than ever. Next month, a new and innovative French-Saudi peace initiative will be launched in New York. The world has not yet given up on us, or on us. Hope marches on the bridges between Jerusalem-Paris-Riyadh and New York.

The October 2023 war exposed all the ills - and also the opportunities - of a conflict that refuses to end. Despite the efforts of right-wing governments, it is impossible to eliminate the Palestinian existence. The walls, the checkpoints, the separations, the incitement and the arrogance have not benefited the Israelis. The Palestinian people here, are not going anywhere, and demand the minimum - the right to self-determination, like any people. At least like the Jews.

The October massacre and the response to it revealed a simple and brutal truth: trying to manage the conflict instead of solving it is a death trap for both sides. After years in which Benjamin Netanyahu, with international assistance, managed to marginalize the Palestinian issue - it has returned - stronger and more explosive than ever. This may not have been Hamas' intention, but this is the result. And the forced solution is approaching.

Reality must be framed honestly. Everything that Israel has done to the Palestinians from the day of its establishment until last October does not justify Hamas' war crimes. Conversely, nothing Hamas has done justifies the massacres and destruction that Israel has been carrying out in the Gaza Strip since then. These are two war crimes that do not offset each other. And those responsible for them - on each side - must face international justice.

In this darkness, the truth is sharper than ever: the traditional approach to resolving the conflict has failed. Without a paradigm shift, we will continue to bleed forever. Hence the importance of the French-Saudi initiative. It brings reality back to the ground, and puts it on its feet.

For three decades, since the Oslo Accords, the Palestinians have been promised a state, like a virtual carrot at the end of the road. Everyone understood the Israeli wink: It would never happen, and so the negotiations became endless and fruitless. And the closer they got to the carrot, the further it got. It became another tool in the toolbox of Israeli political refusal.

Now, France - in rare cooperation with Saudi Arabia - is proposing a new approach: recognition of a Palestinian state first. Not as a prize, nor as the result of a process, but as a binding starting point. The international conference expected this June at the UN could be a historic turning point.

The events of October revealed a silenced truth: the status quo is unbearable. One people lives under occupation, and another lives in constant fear. This is a reality without a future, and a reality that will never bring peace. In July 2024, the International Court of Justice in The Hague ruled that the Israeli occupation of the West Bank is contrary to international law. France internalized the meaning of the ruling and understood: adhering to past paradigms perpetuates hopelessness. It is time to change direction.

Recognizing a Palestinian state as a first step, not a final outcome, means recognizing basic equality between the parties. It is impossible to negotiate when one side is a strong state, and the other side is a shaky entity that must prove itself over and over again. In such a situation, there is no symmetry and no reciprocity. Only political foot-dragging.

Once the Palestinian state is recognized, its leadership will be able to sit at the negotiating table as a sovereign and equal party. Not as a favor-seeker, but as a claimant for the realization of rights for its people. This is not only a moral position, it is a strategic position that increases the chances of success.

France is at a historical test point. It could become the first Western country to lead the way in principle in recognizing a Palestinian state. President Macron has already hinted at this. It is time to turn intentions into policy. The claim that this is a unilateral step that undermines the Oslo legacy is the opposite of the truth. The Oslo Accords were signed more than thirty years ago, and were supposed to lead to the establishment of a Palestinian state within five years. In practice, the agreements have been emptied of their content, the PA has become a subcontractor of the occupation, and Israel has stepped up its annexation measures. This is therefore a misrepresentation, not a diplomatic process.

An alternative future to violence and despair

The claim that recognizing a state is a "reward for terrorism" distorts reality. As if the continuation of the occupation and settlements guarantees stability. The opposite is true: recognizing a state may strengthen the moderate voices on the Palestinian side, grant them legitimacy, and allow for the proposal of an alternative future to violence and despair. It must be admitted: the Oslo Accords became a trap. The Palestinians gave up the struggle and did not receive a state. At the same time, the agreements allowed the Israeli right to promote a vision of one state, with de facto apartheid between Jewish citizens and Palestinian subjects.

The French-Saudi initiative offers a critical opportunity to break the cycle of bloodshed and despair. The solutions are familiar: 1967 borders, solutions for refugees, mutual security, and Jerusalem as a shared and open capital. Under these conditions, negotiations between two states will take place. Without arrogance and without coercion. With the question of sovereignty resolved from the outset, the parties will be able to focus primarily on: security, the economy, free passage, and joint management of resources.

With the recognition of the Palestinian state by the countries of the world, a clear message will be sent: There is a Palestinian people, they have the right to self-determination, and they have an equal place in the family of nations. This will also remove the moral shame from Israel. The only leper democracy in the West that still maintains an active occupation regime and denies rights to an entire population.

This June, in the halls of the United Nations in New York, the world will be forced to choose: to cling to the illusion of an imaginary political process or to allow a real beginning. If there is still a possibility for two states, it begins with the French proposal, and with the simple recognition: a Palestinian state is not an obstacle to peace, it is the only basic condition for its existence.