STEVEN KUO: It’s possible to stand with both Israelis and Palestinians

The Israeli death toll from Hamas’s sophisticated attack out of Gaza is now estimated at more than 1,200, with more than 100 civilian hostages taken. In retaliation Israel has declared war, launched an aerial bombardment of targets in Gaza, and appears to be preparing for a ground operation.

Palestinian authorities report 950 dead and thousands wounded over the past few days of bombardment, a number that will inevitably rise in the coming days and weeks. This is now a full-blown war, with all the associated evils and brutalities.

My view on the situation is consistent with that of Francesca Albanese, UN special rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territories. She said in an interview with Al Jazeera that “it’s possible and necessary to stand with both the Palestinians and Israelis, without resorting to ethical relativism, to selective outrage, or worse, to calls for violence”.

With 20-20 hindsight it is not surprising that the pressure cooker situation of more than 2-million Palestinians living in the tiny Gaza Strip has exploded. I am not a Middle East specialist, but my initial reaction on the outbreak of war was that it seemed to go against the tide of history — I thought the Arab states were generally on a path to normalising relations with Israel. 

As had been noted by Ian Bremmer, president of the Eurasia Group in an interview with TED, this normalisation of relations with Israel may have motivated Hamas to carry out the attack in an attempt to disrupt the process and push the Palestinian question higher on the world’s agenda.

In 2020 Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates agreed to normalise relationship with Israel by signing the Abraham Accords at the US White House. Morocco signed similar agreements with Israel in 2020. In March this year Saudi Arabia signed an agreement to normalise relations with Iran, a backer and supporter of Hamas.   

Most significantly, Saudi Arabia had been discussing normalising relations with Israel as part of a US defence pact and civilian nuclear programme, and an agreement was believed to be just months away. In other words, Israel has been making a great deal of progress in normalising regional relations.   

As noted by Bremmer, Middle East powers have grown tired of the decades-long deadlock over the Palestinian question. Israel is the regional economic and technological powerhouse, and it is in the best interests of Middle Eastern countries to have trade and economic relations with it.

By initiating these attacks and provoking war Hamas has succeeded in disrupting this normalisation of relations. As Israel prepares for a ground offensive with the expected mass casualties, Middle East powers such as Saudi Arabia and UAE will find it hard not to support Palestine and condemn Israel. 

While the US-led West has come out in unequivocal condemnation of the attacks on Israeli civilians by Hamas, public opinion is also likely to be affected if the Israeli counteroffensive and blockade cause large numbers of civilian casualties.

Consistent with its long-held position from when it was a liberation movement, SA’s ANC government has taken the side of the Palestinians. The department of international relations & co-operation issued a statement on October 7 stating that “the new conflagration has arisen from the continued illegal occupation of Palestine land, continued settlement expansion, desecration of the Al-Aqsa Mosque and Christian holy sites, and ongoing oppression of the Palestinian people”. 

Wars end in two ways. Either one side wins or the two sides grow so tired of war and see no prospect of victory, so sue for peace. The war in Gaza is likely to end with Israel smashing Hamas in a brutal urban war. Hamas is expecting this, hence the seizure of civilian hostages.

Nobody has the moral high ground in this war. We need to stand in solidarity with both Israelis and Palestinians. We need to condemn violence and atrocities committed by both sides.

• Dr Kuo is adjunct senior lecturer in the University of Cape Town’s Graduate School of Business.