Amid chaos, a call to redefine victory: A new strategy for peace?

The main question facing the political and military leadership in Israel at present is this: How to define the goals, or objectives, of this war, declared by the Israeli government following the disastrous attack on October 7, 2023? What goals do you dictate for the army – Raze Gaza to the ground? Eliminate Hamas? Kill 100,000 Palestinians who support Hamas?

Without a defined goal, it is impossible to achieve the victory, in the best case scenario, that we win. And defining the kinds of goals stated above is futile. The Americans gave their military forces in Vietnam an objective of “maximum kills.”

They ended up with mounting body counts at the hands of the Viet Cong – and totally lost the war. I contend that the constellation of events that has been created now, including the reactions of the entire world – see the statement of support of the European leaders on October 9 and US President Joe Biden’s recent dramatic statement and astounding visit to Israel – demands that we define a goal that is not only military but also political: finding a solution to the problem of the Palestinian refugees, which comprise the majority of the over two million inhabitants of Gaza.

This solution should come, first of all, from the Arab-Muslim countries, but with the help of significant pressure and sanctions from the Western powers.

Think for a moment: Saudi Arabia pays Portuguese soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo 200 million euros for one football season. How many rehabilitation, absorption, and educational operations for Palestinian refugees could be implemented with such an amount?

In the Gulf countries, billions of dollars are poured into the construction of towers and prosperous cities in the desert. What about their Palestinian brothers?

What about their Palestinians brothers?

For 75 years, the entire world – including the UN and its refugee ageny – completely neglected the solution to the problem. On the contrary – they preserved, nurtured, and nourished it.

And the Arab countries, the brothers of these Palestinians, kept silent and clicked their tongues. Israel alone cannot solve the problem of the Palestinians – that is, the problem of Hamas/Islamic Jihad/Hezbollah.

The current conflict has created a new situation: Hamas is condemned all over the world and is clearly understood to be a threat to the entire free world.

For many in the world, the depth of the madness that the current situation engenders is now being revealed for the first time. In addition, these days the US is actually conducting an intensive campaign in negotiating with Saudi Arabia.

In the framework now being seriously discussed, this Muslim country will be awarded by the Americans gifts that it has never even imagined.

Why not condition these gifts with significant demands? Who but the Arab-Muslim countries must take responsibility for their Palestinian brothers?

Make no mistake: The Arab-Muslim brethren have not done this for 75 years, and they have no desire to do it now. Not of their own accord. Hence, the need for pressure and conditioning.

And so the current conflict in the Middle East creates, for the first time in decades, an opportunity to define an overarching goal: a strategic, political, Middle Eastern global goal.

I call on our Israeli leaders: Please don’t make the mistake again of defining military goals that solve nothing. I call on the leaders of the democratic nations: Please don’t miss this opportunity! ■

Col. (ret.) Dr. Reuven Gal, former chief psychologist of the IDF and deputy national security adviser of Israel’s National Security Council, is currently a senior research fellow at the Shmuel Neaman Institute for National Policy Studies.