Why British ambassador’s Palestinian statehood vision is deeply flawed

Let’s begin by pointing out that the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians is not comparable to Northern Ireland, as suggested by British Ambassador Simon Walters.  Completely out of his depth, when it comes to Middle East mentality and the actual source of the strife, this is also not a struggle over “a shrinking territory and a growing Palestinian population.”

With all due respect to the ambassador, who, in his article, has done his best to assure the U.K.’s unfailing commitment and support towards the Israel, how are we supposed to negotiate a two-state solution with Palestinians when there is no leader of the people?  

Has Ambassador Walters somehow missed the fact that the Hamas terror organization, elected to govern Palestinians is slowly being decimated after their failed attempt to destroy the Jewish homeland? Gazans have been turning on their leadership, lamenting their regret for putting them in power. So, who will speak on behalf of these people?  

The ambassador refers to a letter written to French President Emmanuel Macron by Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas, assuring him that a “Palestinian state has no intention of being militarized.” But as Abbas is about to turn 90 this November, is Walters suggesting that the nonagenarian represent the interests of Palestinians?

Attaining his power in 2005, it has been easy for Abbas to retain his position since no elections have been held ever since. But a 2024 poll showed that only 20% supported Abbas’ Fatah party. There is no indication that this has changed. Consequently, neither he nor Hamas are suitable negotiators for a two-state solution.

The Ambassador also does not offer a venue where the establishment of such a Palestinian state would be. Does he think that the rubble of Gaza would make a good home for these people?

The one thing about which he is correct is that “Palestinians have no political rights within the state that governs them.” However, Israel did not govern Gaza. Hamas did, and they, indeed, trampled on their people’s rights the moment they decided to commit a bloody massacre on innocent Israelis, resulting in the great suffering of Gazans to this day.

Invoking the “horrific scenes of hunger and appalling number of dead civilians,” Walters uses these manipulated images as a justified call to end a war which he knows will jeopardize Israel. But who cares? Both he, and his boss Keir Starmer are more interested in what they see as being politically expedient. 

Even the title of his article – Statehood: The path to security is absurd. Who really believes that Israel will be more secure as the result of a two-state solution? Walter’s contention that an expanded Gaza operation will only lead to more bloodshed which will then lead to radicalization is not based on reality. Because the radicalization, which took place over the last 20 years while Hamas was in power, was not preceded by bloodshed.

Missed by the ambassador is the fact that Hamas’s long-range plan was to cultivate a new generation over the course of those 20 years, train, empower and motivate them for the annihilation of the State of Israel and then seize it for their one-state solution.

Unfortunately, without confronting those aspirations, the goal of laying down weapons and ending a war is just pie in the sky, because this is an enemy which will not stop until every last Jew in the Middle East is dead or banished. All of the arm-twisting and “clear strategic reasoning,” as he calls it, will not change the objectives nor the character of primitive, tribal murderers who will stop at nothing until they have won.

While he begins and ends his article with the highest of praise and admiration for the accomplishments and resilience, Walters has nothing new to offer the nation which has taken on this existential global fight against terror. As many other weak leaders who, themselves are not embroiled in an impossible battle against evil, his proposed political solution is not workable.

That is because the Ambassador naively believes that would-be Palestinian leaders are reasonable men who are merely seeking a good life for their people. If that were true, perhaps, two states would be a viable solution. But given the countless rejections such a proposal has gotten, after being offered by numerous Israeli governments, isn’t it time to admit that statehood is not their end game? So why flog a dead horse?

Ambassador Walters’ contention that “normalized relations within the region depend upon ending the war in Gaza,” is not even close to the truth. Normalized relations within the region begins with each side committing to allow the other to live in safety and security. That is a commitment which Israel has already made, since its inception. We don’t start wars. Even when we knew that we were about to be attacked, as occurred in the 1973 Yom Kippur War, we did not pre-empt their attack.

True peace cannot be had without a rejection of annihilating the people whose country you want for yourself. If just that concession can be made, it would set the framework for a successful negotiation among leaders who respect each other’s populations.

Why is this not clear to the UK Ambassador? It’s a pity that he took the time and energy to formulate an article which, in the end, offered no understanding of the conflict, the people involved in it or useful advice in order to bring it to a secure end.

Sadly, Ambassador Walters failed to address the security threat to the 10 million inhabitants of Israel nor did he offer real answers as to how to change the unrelenting motivation by Palestinian leaders to destroy the Jewish state.

Until those questions can be adequately answered, it might be beneficial for the Ambassador to invest himself in the growing threat which faces his own country as it relates to the massive numbers of Islamic radicals who pose a danger to the British way of life.

In the meantime, Ambassador Simon Walters can rest assured that Israel will concern itself to the best path for its security which we have already determined is not the establishment of a Palestinian state.