In a first, the entire Arab League condemns the October 7th terror attacks and calls on Hamas to lay down their arms.

 

Hamas fighters in Gaza. Times of Israel/AFP.

In a first the entire Arab League has condemned the October 7th terror attack and calls on Hamas to lay down their arms. Times of Israel. The statement came under the "New York Declaration" which calls on an end the 80 year conflict, involving a two state solution where Palestine would be independent but unarmed. The declaration demands Hamas hand over their weapons to the Palestinian Authority and allow them to take over Gaza. The declaration also called for international troops to be deployed to Gaza after the war to keep the peace. The declaration was also critical of Israel for their conduct of the war. The declaration was criticized by the government of Israel due to the result being a two state solution, which Israel has long rejected. 

My Comment:

This proposal is probably dead on arrival due to both sides of the conflict rejecting it. I can't see Israel ever willingly agreeing to a two state solution, especially with Benjamin Netanyahu in power. And I don't think they would believe that Hamas would ever actually give up the fight. They have, after all, been essentially defeated in the war and it's absurd that they are still fighting, would they really give up the fight if they made this deal? 

And it's not like Hamas would agree to this either. Like I said, I can't see them ever giving up the fight, it's all that they are. They aren't going to give up their arms unless Israel no longer exists and even then I can't see it because they will then turn their weapons on Arabs they didn't like either. 

But I do think that this signals a few things. Most importantly, the Arab League is not only sick of this war, they are sick of Hamas as well. A few years back it would have been impossible for them to admit that October 7th was a terror attack and a bad one at that. It really seems like they are cutting Hamas loose and it's the point where I don't think they have any allies left. 

It also shows that the war is unpopular among just about everyone. I know I am sick of it, it's gone on too long now and realistically it's not going to end militarily unless Israel would actually go full genocide (which they are obviously not doing now). Eventually some kind of diplomatic solution must be made. This declaration might not be it, like I said, I don't see Israel being willing to accept it, but it's a starting point at least. 

There is another thing I like about this and it's the fact that the Palestinian Authority would take over Gaza. There is a reason why Israel hasn't been bombing the West Bank for the past two years and that's because the Palestinian Authority is a lot more sane than Hamas ever was. They aren't perfect but they would be a much better choice to rule than Hamas is. 

I would say that a dealbreaker for me would be the use of American troops in Gaza. The declaration didn't call for that directly but the idea is not something I would ever want. Gaza would be a mess for any country that would deploy troops and, like I said, I can't imagine that Hamas wouldn't still keep up the fight. They would just be targeting whatever poor army is deployed there. 

I do think that the war needs to end though. Either Israel has to come to some kind agreement or they have to actually go full genocide/ethnic cleansing (not the fake one that is going on now, but an actual one where they just kill everyone or kick every single person out of Gaza). The 2nd one is probably not an option, even though that's how warfare has worked for thousands of year, so some kind of deal must be made. This proposal probably isn't it, but sooner or later Israel should end the war.