Trump’s plan and the tough decision

By Dr. Bakr Abu Bakr
Two years on, the Palestinian Arab people have been suffering, tossed between pain and sighs, between hunger, killing and disease in the Gaza Strip, while their brothers in the West Bank live lives of misery and hardship — albeit with a different intensity of suffering. The catastrophe in Gaza, marked by extreme harm, aggression and devastation, surpasses in severity and brutality more than 15 military campaigns (wars) that occurred during the twentieth century, as one of the leading American historians has said.

As a result of the aggression, “Netanyahu”, with his fascist regime and unlimited American backing, effectively dominates the Levant. No one restrains him — neither the so‑called “axis of resistance” nor the “axis of moderation” — both have, for their own reasons, withdrawn into themselves and effectively left Palestine to stand alone, preferring to retreat and fortify under what they call “rationality” or “pragmatism,” forgetting the many instruments of power they possess and could use to confront Netanyahu’s legendary threats and his vision of a Greater Israel spread across the nation.

The idea of a Palestinian state is Netanyahu’s daily nightmare or demon; he pledged back in 1996 to destroy it, and he continues to pursue that aim tirelessly, terrifying the nation by portraying himself as the leader of an axis of blessing and goodness against an axis of wrath and evil, while in reality he is upsetting the balances.

Against the background of states’ interests and limits, there was the Arab Initiative, the Saudi‑French initiative and the New York declaration, and successive recognitions by Western states this time have been added to those since 1988, pushing the newly recognizing countries’ support for Palestine toward the forefront. Still, “Netanyahu”, his army and his regime avoid even uttering the name Palestine, and they erase it from the map as they wipe out its people on the ground with blood.

After Trump’s recent plan, corrupted and deeply altered by Netanyahu, the primary party to the cause must realize that the target is not merely this party or that group but the overall cause itself. Thus, as we say to the nation, we say to ourselves as Palestinians: the time has come to understand that the fire will burn the whole house, as the Israeli fascist says and does daily. There is no shield for the struggle except by extending a hand under one umbrella and taking a decision, even if it is perceived as a national concession here or there — it is a thousand times better than the current solitary course that leads to destruction for the people and the cause.

Salvation lies only in unity — in a unified program, unified arms, unified authority and unified leadership that make joint decisions — unlike the gambling and mistakes that have dragged the region into ruin through Israeli entrapments. The time has come to take steps forward, to stop listening to interlocutors and start listening to the unifying national voice and the voice of the Palestinian and Arab masses — and the non‑Arab millions who have chanted everywhere for Palestine and its people, not for faction A or B.

Writer and thinker Hani al‑Masri says we stand between a scenario of total liquidation and the needed national reconciliation scenario, urging a pause to draw lessons and move toward a Palestinian struggle project that preserves the cause. Writer and thinker Ibrahim Abrash says: “Hamas should announce that it hands over the entire Gaza portfolio to Egypt, the State of Palestine and the United Nations and that any negotiations be conducted with them; by doing so Hamas becomes a partner in the positive international mobilization in favor of Palestine.” Analyst Amir Makhlouf, after enumerating the grave dangers to the people and the cause in Trump’s dismal and unjust plan, says that “the formula does not meet the minimum requirements for a just peaceful solution to the Palestinian issue,” noting it is unlikely that Hamas would not prioritize the voices of Gaza, starving to death and being annihilated and displaced. Marwan Tubasi, writing under the headline “Wrong calculations: welcoming a plan that sidelines its owners,” calls for the declaration of a national salvation government, urging Hamas to reassess its vision, stop adventurism and move toward unifying the Palestinian stance.

We say that the factions — after Trump’s plan and today foremost among them “Hamas” in Gaza — face dwindling options that shrink continually as blood continues to be spilled. No faction is more important than the homeland: let the faction go to hell if it must, or wait for the next phase, or recognize that revolution, struggle and confrontation take different forms and do not stop at a single method — which, after long lean months, has proven weak, besieged and unable to achieve gains. All factions must understand that whether the current round ends with or against Trump’s unjust scheme, what comes next will be greater for Gaza and for all of Palestine; there is no escaping a meeting, a joint decision and preparation for future rounds in different forms.

If a decision‑maker lacks vision, political blindness is his path and doom his fate — especially since the current situation dictates that the voice of the Palestinian street, and particularly the exhausted people of Gaza after two bitter years, must be taken into account. No last‑minute fixes, clarifications or amendments — despite all the failures revealed in the “Trump‑Netanyahu” plan — are more important than preserving what remains of our people’s lives, away from slogans of agitation, mobilization and deception that spread from the start of the sudden attack until outsiders imagined a war between two great armies, when in truth the Palestinian, with his bare body and steadfastness, resists the largest war machine in modern history.

A unified decision by all Palestinians, without dividing into axes, is necessary and urgent regardless of the size of concessions made for the sake of people’s lives and the cause, however they may be understood. Tomorrow, God willing, will be better and new rounds will come. The struggle to achieve an independent State of Palestine (Netanyahu’s nightmare) remains long and requires everyone’s effort. Every observer, near or far, must realize that the people are more important than any faction, and the homeland is more important than leaders. The path of struggle does not stop at the boundaries of any one group but continues through the resolve and unwavering faith of its people.