Too Stupid To Know They've Lost

The route to peace in the Middle East runs through the end of Palestinianism

“From the River to the Sea, Palestine will be free” has been the refrain of the halfwit and the malign for decades. Some chanters will be fooled by false histories and narratives; others will perpetrate those narratives. However, in doing so, they are also perpetrating more killing, more suffering, and a more uncertain future for not only Israelis but most of all the Arabs they claim to represent.

Einat Wilf explains “Palestinianism” as a political theory dedicated to two things: the end of the state of Israel and the right of Palestinian Arabs to reclaim the land on which Israel now sits. It is not connected to those in Gaza or the West Bank making the most of their land nor turning those places into peaceful and successful states. As a political theory, it is the equivalent of a toddler demanding what they cannot have and throwing a violent tantrum when denied.

The one clear message since 7th October is that Israel is not going anywhere. In the clash of ideas between Zionism and Palestinianism, Zionism has won overwhelmingly. The IDF has the warplanes and weapons. Palestinian attempts to strike at Israel have not achieved any strategic goals of damaging the Israeli state in any meaningful way, neither through intifadas nor murder-rape-torture rampages.

Indeed, such attempts have galvanised the entirety of Israeli society. In spite of internal political debate, it is remarkable how Israel has pulled together as a nation since 7th October. Oversubscribed mass volunteering for IDF reserve service; charitable efforts to support the troops; a unity over the desire to return the hostages. At the end of 17 months of conflict since 7th October, Israel as a civil society is stronger than ever.

(As an aside, I do not think we in the West can read much into the vehemence of internal Israeli political debate. I have been at a conference with 25 Israelis this week, and most days found 50 different opinions in the room. It seems to be the Israeli way.)

It actually does not matter whether someone is pro-Israel or pro-Palestine. Reality trumps fantasy. The simple fact of the matter is that Palestinianism will not and cannot succeed. Israel is too strong, both militarily and societally. Therefore, right of return fantasies aside, the pattern of violence is that Arab terrorism is met with overwhelming Israeli force. This cycle of violence has met its most extreme iteration in the 2023-25 Gaza-Israel war. The ultimate result of Palestinianism is unending and worsening suffering for Palestinians.

The end to this suffering is in two parts: internal and external.

Internally, Palestinian Arabs need three things: an acceptance of the state of Israel; an end to the eternal victim complex conferred by permanent refugee status; and accountability for their own role in their predicament. Israel has repeatedly offered peaceful coexistence to Palestinians. Palestinianism is the reason they have rejected peace and chosen violence.

They have been cheered on by their external backers: in the UN, in international media, malign countries such as Qatar and Iran, and a weaponised anti-Israel NGO sector.

The external issue is by far the harder one to fix. What possible incentive is there for Palestinians to make peace with Israel when their leaders are financially incentivised to keep fighting and keep their people suffering? From Arafat onwards, Palestinian leaders have been made billionaires by foreign “aid”.

Palestinianism is a zombie concept. It is an ex-idea. It has been killed by Israeli firepower. It has no chance of ever succeeding. However, the rotten corpse of Palestinianism is kept animated by the aforementioned coalition of international cheerleaders: incentivising corruption, making billionaires of Palestinian leaders, and perpetuating the cycle of violence.

The only way to break this cycle of violence is an end to the idea of Palestinianism: it is already dead, but it needs to be buried with a stake through its heart. This starts with internal acknowledgement. If Palestinians themselves reject “from the river to the sea”, their international supporters look deeply silly in supporting an idea that Palestinians themselves do not.

The challenge for Israel is to provide a stick or a carrot that outweighs international financing. I would suggest it starts with finding a way to bypass or disband the Palestinian Authority. The route to peace is through empowering Palestinian Arabs at the clan level to own their own futures and showing them how good life could be if they do so. The first waypoint on that route is the end of Palestinianism.