Unlike in previous rounds of intense, high-level negotiations held in both Cairo and Doha, there seems to be a near consensus on who is to blame for the stalemate that results in the continued genocide of Palestinians, with over 41,000 victims now. It is Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his cabinet.

According to latest UN reports, over 2.4 million Palestinians are now squeezed into a mere 30 per cent of Gaza’s already tiny 360 square km. With the recent surge in Israeli military operations that kill an average of 30-40 Palestinians daily over the past two weeks, mostly children and women, the occupation army has been issuing more evacuation orders, leaving most Palestinians with nowhere to go.

As clearly seen from the bloody developments in all three occupied Palestinian territories – Gaza, the West Bank and East Jerusalem – Netanyahu’s plan is not just to kill the Gaza deal on last-minute, fake pretexts such as maintaining control over the border with Egypt, known as the Salaheddine or Philadelphi Corridor. His obvious if not unstated goal is to kill once and for all any attempt to create an independent Palestinian state as stipulated by the international community and UN resolutions.

It was an absurd experience following the cut-and-paste news conferences given by Netanyahu in Hebrew and English last week, in which he acted like a geography teacher in an elementary school class – knowing that nobody believes him – probably not even himself. Yet, the master of manipulation and media stunts had no shame about pointing to a barely visible, narrow corridor 14 km long, claiming that it “is different from all other corridors and places. It is central and determines our entire future.”

Now we have a new admission by the Israeli premier: it is no longer just Iran, its alleged nuclear arms programme and its proxies in the region that pose a threat to Israel’s existence, but the narrow Salaheddine Corridor which Egypt has tightly controlled and monitored over the past 10 years as well.  

Netanyahu is desperate to extend the war indefinitely not only to ensure his and his extremist coalition’s political survival but also to avoid confronting his failures, whether in deterring the stunning attack that Hamas fighters carried out on 7 October last year or controlling, let alone eliminating the organisation.

The fatal failure Netanyahu would never concede is that his continued refusal to recognise the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination – to establish their own independent state – is what led to the 7 October attacks. It is also the reason behind the risky situation the entire region is currently facing. As long as Netanyahu, his allies and indeed most of the Israeli public refuse to concede that the racist occupation of Palestinian land must come to an end, there can be no guarantee that Israel will ever enjoy true peace and security.

President Abdel-Fattah Al-Sisi this week urged the international community to exert intense pressure to achieve an agreement that would end the ongoing conflict in the Gaza Strip and the violence in the West Bank. After meeting with the EU Foreign Policy Chief, Josep Borrell, on Monday, Al-Sisi also emphasised that ending the Gaza conflict would help alleviate regional tensions and restore stability at a time when “ongoing escalation has expanded the circle of conflict,” in a clear reference to Lebanon.

However, unlike the Israeli prime minister, Egypt’s president was fully aware of the core issue that needs to be solved to achieve true, permanent peace in the region. He stressed that the “end of the catastrophic humanitarian tragedy endured by the Palestinians in Gaza must pave the way for the actualisation of the two-state solution, which would open avenues for peace, coexistence, stability, and development in the region.”

Al-Sisi’s statements are crucial at a time when we hear nothing but utter madness from Israeli officials like Finance Minister Bezlael Smotrich and, National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir. On Monday Smotrich openly wrote on X, “My life’s mission is to build the Land of Israel and thwart the establishment of a Palestinian state that would endanger the State of Israel. It’s not political. It is national and existential.”

He added, “I will continue to work with all my strength to allow the half million settlers who are on the front line and under fire to enjoy the same rights of every citizen in Israel and to establish facts on the ground that will prevent the establishment of a Palestinian state.”

No wonder the Israeli government has refused to receive EU’s Borrell, who recently called on his fellow European ministers to stop being indifferent, and to sanction Israeli ministers and officials, such as Smotrich, who feed nothing but hate, racism and bloodshed.

* A version of this article appears in print in the 12 September, 2024 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly