Opinion: Israel is rudderless, and Washington is going down with the ship

The assassination of Hamas political chief Ismail Haniyeh has once again underscored Israel’s lack of strategic direction. 

Tel Aviv has proven itself incapable of being a partner in any framework of peace, stability or cooperation. It remains incapable of interrogating its past, confronting its present, or envisioning a clear future. 

Israel is caught in the liminal space of being a project and a state, juxtaposed between an apartheid regime and a democratic nation, straddling the line between a start-up country and a mature nation. It oscillates between historical prophecy and modern reality, balancing the dichotomy of religious fanaticism and rule of law. 

It is an ethnocratic and overtly racist state, but it is heralded by western capitals as the “only democracy in the Middle East”. While actively engaged in ethnic cleansing, it simultaneously clamours for its “right to exist”.

This identity crisis feeds a vicious cycle. This mindset, which has long believed that Palestinian resistance can be quelled through occupation, massacres, exile, genocide and assassinations, will inevitably escalate the conflict.

The existence of Israel as a project in the Middle East is not particularly striking. Amid regional countries emerging from the wreckage of world wars, themselves still nascent states, the fact that the victorious powers forcibly established Israel in the Middle East was unsurprising. It was a challenging endeavour, but one realised with the unwavering support of the victors. 

What is truly remarkable is the Palestinian resistance that has persisted for nearly a century, despite the overwhelming asymmetry in military, economic and diplomatic power.

Read more: Israel is rudderless, and Washington is going down with the ship by Taha Ozhan