Israel needs to learn from past mistakes and stop relying solely on a military solution as the way to achieve security. That, Dr. Nancy Okail, President and CEO of the Center for International Policy, told our webinar audience, is a “false assumption that has been proved wrong over and over again”. Indeed, in rejecting a diplomatic path forward, Okail argued, Israel has managed to make Hamas the default option for the Palestinian people. Hamas’ October 7 terrorism, she noted, must therefore be looked at not just as an Israeli intelligence and military failure, but as a “failure of political foresight”.
We’re delighted to now share with you a recording of our Wednesday, December 20 webinar, “Stop the Fighting – Then Resolve the Conflict,” in case you weren’t able to attend live. The event was moderated by our board member, Prof. Joshua Shanes.
Okail’s co-panelist, Matt Duss, Executive Vice-President of the Center for International Policy, stressed that, although the goal of “ending Hamas” completely isn’t realistic, it is possible to “make Hamas irrelevant” through a “process that offers Palestinians a horizon for liberation and an end to occupation”. But reaching a situation in which both peoples equally enjoy national self-determination, Duss said, will likely “require Biden and the United States to confront” Israel’s recalcitrant government.