Neither the Israelis nor the Arabs want Peace

Every international body agrees that the solution for the Israel Palestine conflict is the so called "two state solution". It divides the land of Historic Israel into two nations: one for the Arabs and the other for the jews. It is taken for granted that if this solution is not achieved neither side will ever have peace and they will both be stuck in a state of perpetual war. That may be the case, but what should not be taken for granted is that the state of perpetual war- at least for the foreseeable future- isn't what both sides want. Yes, the people on the ground, especially in Palestine are suffering and paying a heavy toll in this conflict.  But I will argue that there are strong vested interests and strong incentives to keep the conflict going on for as long as possible.

For a start, a look at the Israeli policies tell us that there are at least two alternatives to the two state solution. The first is the ignominious one state solution that will turn Israel into an apartheid non democratic state or end its Jewish nature. This always gets presented as the only alternative to the two state solution in speeches about the Palestinians winning the demographic battle and conquering Israel through the womb. Those who make the speeches from the left want to push the right wing Israelis into accepting the two state solution. The other alternative however is what is going on right now in the Israeli territories and it has been highlighted by academic Noam Chomsky.  He argues they Israel is currently evicting as many Palestinians out of some of the West Bank's territories in an effort to expand Israel into most of it. The Palestinians would remain inside a small patch of the West Bank and in Gaza. At that point they might be allowed to call the land they occupy a State or they can call it whatever they want. What won't happen however is genuine independence. As such Israel will retain the maximum of land while remaining Jewish. One would go further and think that in the long run the Palestinians will get tired of their predicament and will leave Palestine as more and more of them do so today.

Secondly when it comes to Israel it is important to understand the power of the military industrial complex in the economy. It is easily the largest sector and gets plenty of money from the outside. It also fosters innovation and creativity. As such Israel would lose big if it were to enter a new era of peace. As a result Israel doesn't really want peace and doesn't really pursue peace. But what about the Arabs?

The idea that the Arabs want to have a peaceful solution to the conflict can be traced back most recently to the Saudi initiative at the Arab league meeting in Beirut in 2002. At that time, the Arab league proposed that Israel withdraws to the 1967 border in exchange for peace.

On the face of it, it seems like a very moderate proposal to advance the interest of peace. However when one digs beyond the surface he finds out that the proposal also insisted that the Palestinian diaspora either get compensation for their land or go back to Israel proper. This is obviously a nonstarter for Israel which wants to remain a Jewish and democratic state.

The other thing to consider is that for the Arab world the conflict with Israel keeps despots in place. Israel helps to maintain the atmosphere of fear and persecution that Arabs feel vis a vis the west. This has been the case for years in Syria where the regime has kept the emergency law because of the zionist threat. This is also the raison d’Etre of groups like Hizballah in Lebanon who would not be able to hold weapons if it weren’t for the zionist threat. And then there's Iran which keeps its population in check with the hatred of Israel and the just cause of the Palestinians.

We then turn to the palestinians. There we find that for the people, lives would indeed be better if there was peace as was said in the introduction. But the leadership would not benefit from such a circumstance. They get plenty of money from the rich Gulf Arabs and Iran to perpetuate the conflict.

We add to all of this the religious dimension to the conflict where Jews and Muslims fight over the al Aqsa mosque and we can understand how this conflict has no end. Indeed, with religious claims on both sides, it is hard to see how coexistence can ever take place.

I make the argument here that when it comes to Israelis and Arabs, neither side wants peace. One might be tempted to argue that they do want peace, but on their own terms. The problem is that that is not peace, but victory. Victory in a war of attrition where the other side is eliminated. Israeli victory means an end to the palestinian people. An arab victory means the end to the Jewish state. As such this is not Peace. And in an era of ISIS and the war in Syria, no one cares.