Therefore, in our future strategy, we must understand that the US-Israeli alliance is bound to grow stronger and more effective.
Israel’s war on Gaza is a prime example of this entrenched alliance. This war, unprecedentedly heinous and atrocious in modern history and transgressing all legal and humanitarian norms, reveals the depth of the partnership between Israel and the US, which in 20 months of war did very little to end it. Though the sole superpower capable of reigning in Israel’s violence, the US achieved no more than a six-week ceasefire. I believe that the US’s deliberate lack of political will to end the war hinged on Israel’s decision.
While appreciating President Trump’s declared positions on peace and global stability and successes in resolving certain issues, I believe he still intentionally avoids engaging seriously with the Palestinian cause. The problem obviously ranks low on his list of priorities, and he appears to have dismissed the need to address it as a serious international concern. The question remains: does the US administration have a vision for resolving this conflict? Or is it simply waiting to see how regional events unfold? I hope Washington—or even Tel Aviv—conveys a vision for a resolution that hopefully avoids discredited and unacceptable deal-making.
During Netanyahu’s upcoming visit to Washington, I foresee four key issues dominating US-Israeli dialogue:
- Bilateral political, economic, and military relations.
- Future US-Israeli coordination on Iran and especially its nuclear programme.
- Developments in the Gaza war and the imminent announcement of a final ceasefire.
- The Middle East’s future and Israel’s projected role following the transformations in the past two years.
Despite Washington’s deep bench of regional experts, I feel compelled to offer several strategic observations the US should consider in dealing with a region undergoing unprecedented upheaval:
- American policy in the region will never genuinely succeed without justly resolving the Palestinian issue.
- Washington must revert to the balanced role it once played, which earned it significant Arab support. It should endeavour to resolve the Palestinian issue as a full partner and partially abandon its lopsided support for Israel.
- Regardless of the US and Israel’s vision of accelerating normalisation, Israel’s full regional integration will remain impossible without resolving the Palestinian cause.
- Washington must eliminate any plans to forcibly relocate Gaza’s population to Egypt, which have been categorically rejected, and caution Israel against mulling such actions against a country that firmly adheres to its peace treaty with Israel, as Egypt.
- Future normalisation between Israel and certain Arab states may succeed on a formal level, but it will remain fragile and unsustainable under current regional dynamics.
Now I turn to the critical question of what should be expected from the US.
- Achieving a ceasefire in Gaza—or even ending the war entirely— is necessary but only as a means to end the genocide and the starvation, not an end in itself. Prioritising a political resolution should come next.
- The day after the war must not solely guarantee Israeli security, vital as it is, but also that of the Palestinians.
- Washington and Tel Aviv must refrain from unilaterally imposing Israeli sovereignty over the West Bank or parts thereof to avoid a new and far more violent phase of conflict, potentially worse than in Gaza.
- The United States must support the immediate implementation of the Egyptian-Arab reconstruction plan for Gaza and provide all possible assistance.
- It must also articulate clear and acceptable principles, which should grant Palestinians their right to statehood with credible security guarantees and form the basis for upcoming US-sponsored negotiations.
In conclusion, I’d like to pose a final question to the US administration: Is expanding the Abraham Accords merely numerically, without addressing the core regional conflicts, truly in Washington’s strategic interest? Or would it be wiser to resolve unresolved issues, especially the Palestinian question, to create a more favourable regional climate for a sustainable and credible normalisation process?
A final word to US policymakers: you must understand the profound difference between the legitimate goal of maintaining strategic relations with regional partners and attempting to control the region through force or imposing Israeli and American diktats. The latter is doomed to fail. The Middle East is not just barren land. It is a uniquely strategic region that history has shown will never yield easily to coercion or domination.
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