Gaza Ceasefire Deal Would Bring Broader Middle East Peace | Opinion

Israel seemed to be in great shape in September. It carried out a science-fiction type of attack largely against enemy combatants, and killed many top leaders of both Hamas and Hezbollah.
But while the Israeli actions may have been spectacular and emotionally uplifting to Israelis, none of them have, nor will, end either organization. The reality check came on October 1, when a barrage of 180 missiles from Iran rained down on locations throughout Israel. Eight Israeli soldiers were killed in south Lebanon and scores were injured. A shooting attack in Jaffa, near Tel Aviv, led to the death of four Israelis. And despite the heavy toll in Gaza, Hamas militants were able to blow up a Merkava tank, causing fatalities and injuries.
Whether Israel will absorb these attacks and hold off its planned revenge attack against Iran is largely in the hands of the White House. U.S. President Joe Biden has called on Israel not to attack Iranian nuclear targets but, as in its previous responses to advice from Biden, the Netanyahu administration said it will make its own decision on the timing and target. But while Israel has during this year often ignored the public and private advice of the White House, Iran is not Hamas or Hezbollah, and the Israeli military (if not the hardcore political voices in Netanyahu’s cabinet) know that.
The U.S. president needs to change his way of dealing with Netanyahu unless he wants to be continually viewed as an accomplice to the Israeli leader’s brutality, war crimes against civilians, and starvation of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians in Gaza.
A solution exists, though—if President Biden wants to follow it.
A ceasefire in Gaza and an exchange of detained Israelis and Palestinians provides the perfect answer to secure a regional ceasefire in a conflict that now includes two fellow UN member states (Lebanon and Iran). This answer has had Biden’s explicit approval since June as well as the blessing of the international community in the form of UN Security Council resolution #2735, passed on June 10.
A Gaza agreement will immediately stop the attacks from Lebanon and allow Lebanese and Israeli civilians to return to their homes. And naturally, the issues of concern between Iran and Israel would no longer be applicable.
The Biden administration has been far too lax in dealing with the Netanyahu administration, which has repeatedly lied about and obfuscated Biden’s efforts to end its revenge war against Palestinians in Gaza. American officials and even retired Israeli generals have repeatedly said the IDF cannot eliminate Hamas, and Israel certainly cannot defeat Hezbollah or Iran—despite its ability to violate Lebanon and Iran’s sovereign territory and pick off some of their top leaders. Ironically, following every Israeli assassination, a more hawkish replacement has risen.
Over half the Israeli population wants an end to the Gaza war. Netanyahu wants it to continue without any end in sight and without any post-war plan. Israeli activist Gershon Baskin has publicly stated that Hamas would agree to a three-week plan that would include the release of all hostages, yet Israel is refusing to agree, and Washington does not want to press Israel too much.
Unable to end the war against an ideological movement unwilling to surrender through military means, it is imperative that Israel find a political track to end the conflict. Israeli efforts to create deterrence by heavy-handed military attacks can only accomplish so much. So long as there is reason for grievance, the other side will bite their lips, accepting the high price for refusing to surrender and continue fighting. There will always be an enemy on the other side, wherever your soldiers plant their feet.
The only way to stop the other side from shooting at you is to try and address their grievances. For Lebanon and Iran today, it is Gaza, and for Palestinians, it is the end of a 17-year siege, a 57-year occupation, and 75 years without addressing the Palestinian refugee issue. Without dealing with the injustice to Palestinians, Israelis will continue to live by the sword. But there is another way, one to which the world has already agreed. End the Israeli occupation and allow Palestinians to live freely next to a secure and safe Israel. This is possible, but it will require a much more pro-active American ally to make it happen.
Daoud Kuttab is an award-winning Palestinian journalist and former Feris Professor of Journalism. He is columnist with ALmonitor.org and Arab News. Follow him on X Daoud Kuttab and Threads @daoud.kuttab
The views expressed in this article are the writer’s own.