The current extremist positions adopted by the State of Israel and Hamas, the militant Palestinian organisation in charge of Gaza, will surely never conduce to peace in the Middle East. The ongoing war was sparked off after Hamas carried out an unprovoked terrorist incursion into Israel on October 7, 2023, killing 1,400 people, among whom were Americans and other foreign nationals.

Also, Hamas is holding about 240 Israeli citizens and some foreigners hostage, including babies and the elderly, some of whom were victims of the Nazi Holocaust during World War II. Israel has since launched an offensive to “eliminate” Hamas. The Jewish State says its security forces will stay in Gaza and control its security at the end of the conflict. It claims that it is the only way it can prevent the recurrence of October 7 in future.

Hamas, on the other hand, is an organisation sworn to the destruction of Israel. With Israel laying a Biblical claim to ownership of the land by divine gift, we see mutually nihilist extremist positions that will only produce endless bloodshed.

We call on both sides to take another look at their positions and go for peaceful coexistence for a better future for all concerned. We strongly believe that the “two-state” solution encapsulated in the Oslo Accords I and II, if faithfully implemented, will bring about lasting peace. We also subscribe to the United Nations Security Council Resolution 242, which states in part that there should be:

“Termination of all claims or states of belligerency and respect for and acknowledgement of sovereignty, territorial integrity and political independence of every State in the area and their right to live in peace with secure and recognised boundaries free from threats or acts of force”.

The Oslo Accords signed in 1993 and 1995 by Prime Minister of Israel, Yitzak Rabin and the President of the Palestinian Liberation Organisation, PLO, the late Yasser Arafat, whereby both sides recognised each other’s right to live and govern themselves, had seemed like a turning point in the relationship between them.

Unfortunately, Rabin was assassinated on November 4, 1995 by a Jewish extremist, while Hamas vehemently disagreed with the peace effort. It seized control of Gaza, and with the support of Iran and funding of several Muslim countries, has fought three previous war with Israel since 2008.

Force of arms cannot solve this problem. It will only lead to more deaths and destruction. Indeed, it could lead to another global-scale conflict.