The Question for the Future: How Will We Address the Geographic Expansion of Greater Israel?
By Afaf Aniba
Yesterday, I had a conversation with a political science expert specializing in Middle Eastern affairs. She expressed her deep disappointment at the paralysis of the United Nations and the collapse of international institutions in stopping the ongoing genocide in Palestine, in addition to the complicity of Arab and Muslim states with the Zionist entity. She concluded by saying:
“Afaf, if we assess the current situation, we will reach this terrifying conclusion: there will be no Palestinian state for the Palestinians.”
I replied:
“The current U.S. ambassador in occupied Palestine is right when he says that establishing two states on a narrow strip of land like Palestine is impossible. As for the Palestinian Authority negotiating for less than 22% of a fragmented territory to build a microscopic, demilitarized pseudo-state, this is criminal absurdity. Donald Trump was clear during his first term when he recognized Jerusalem as the capital of the occupying entity. By their defeat—three times—of their regular armies before Israel, the Arabs effectively declared that the victor is Israel, and that what they call ‘Palestine’ no longer exists. The state that stands there is victorious Israel, not defeated Palestine, which has become a page from the past.”**
Arabs and Palestinians failed to understand Trump’s clarity when he effectively announced that “Palestine” no longer exists. They are defeated in all fields. Even today’s generations of Muslims do not truly know Palestine; rather, they tend to view advanced Israel with goodwill, compared to the backwardness of their own countries. Today’s youth are impressed by the capabilities and degree of progress of the Zionist Jews, and they look with contempt upon Arab regimes. Practically speaking, Palestine has ended, and all that remains are individuals and groups who believe in an entity that has effectively ceased to exist.
And you may ask: **What is the solution, then?
There is no solution in the near term. Any solution requires a comprehensive renaissance of the Islamic world — and that is not foreseeable today. Muslims are scattered, divided, and their interests are colliding, while the enemy is supported by the Western world with all its institutions. The Arab and Islamic world experiences defeat daily and on every level. Therefore, there is no point in talking about “Palestine” now. We must deal with the future of the conflict as it appears in its actual trajectory, not as we wish it to be. And the real question in a few years may be:
How will we address the geographic expansion of Greater Israel?
