Gaza remains on the edge

Thirty-two years after the Oslo Accords were signed, then deputy foreign minister Yossi Beilin, who played a leading role in the Oslo peace process, remains actively involved in advocating for warmer peace between the two peoples.

The Oslo Accords are a set of framework agreements designed to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

While the widely considered "lead architect" of the 1993 landmark agreement strongly rejects what Hamas did on Oct 7, 2023, as "really beyond any nightmare" — referring to the attack on Israel that killed about 1,200 people — and does not recognize Hamas as a "peace partner" due to its refusal to recognize a Jewish state, Beilin also believes Israel and the international community should do more to clear the path toward the two-state solution.

A ceasefire that came into force in October brokered by the Donald Trump administration, Qatar and Egypt provided some hope. It was followed by the United Nations Security Council in November adopting Resolution 2803 (2025), based on the new peace plan.

The proposal included the establishment of a Board of Peace and an International Stabilization Force, or ISF, in Gaza, which is expected to monitor the progress of the ceasefire.

The ceasefire that came into effect in October saw a hostage-prisoner exchange and a pause in heavy fighting between Israel and Hamas. But calls for more aid flows, to this day, remain. Flashes of reported attacks also saw Israel and Hamas occasionally accuse each other of violating the ceasefire deal.

Beilin, a member of the Knesset — the Israeli parliament — between 1988 and 2008 and now a scholar, told China Daily in an interview that he "would like to see a bigger role for the Palestinian Authority in solving problems" in Trump's peace plan.

Beilin, who was also a former minister in the Office of the Prime Minister of Israel, said that today, "more people understand the Palestinian Authority is important". One of the notable outcomes of the Oslo Accords was the creation of the Palestinian Authority, which was tasked with the responsibility of conducting limited Palestinian self-governance over parts of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.

"Our partners are the Palestine Liberation Organization and the big mistake of the current Israeli government is that it is weakening the PLO, it is weakening the Palestinian Authority (PA). It is not doing enough against the violence of the settlers on the Palestinian inhabitants in the West Bank," said Beilin.

He cited Israel's refusal to transfer money owed to the PA according to the Paris agreement of 1994. He also noted that the Israeli government was "doing whatever they can in order to put pressure on them (Palestinians) and to make their lives miserable".

"What should be done is to work with the Palestinian Authority, to work with the PLO, not to work with Hamas as Bibi (Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu) in the past (helped Hamas). Not because he loved them (but) because he actually was assured that with them, there will never be a demand for a two-state solution. For them, it is not enough. This is the whole story," he added.

In an opinion article published in The Times of Israel on Oct 8, 2023, Tal Schneider, a political correspondent at the Israeli media outlet, noted that for years, the various governments led by Netanyahu took an approach of "dividing the power between Gaza Strip and the West Bank".

Fast forward to today, and with the Netanyahu government hell-bent on wiping out Hamas, leaving at least 70,000 dead in Gaza in the process, 157 countries of the 193 UN member states now recognize the State of Palestine, according to the UN. Israel, by contrast, is recognized by 165 of the UN's 193 member states.

Despite these diplomatic strides, all parties to the ceasefire agreement, which include Egyptian, Qatari and Turkish mediators, have been struggling to move to the second phase of the deal, which would tackle Hamas' disarmament and Israel's withdrawal from the occupied Palestinian territory.

Ammar Al-Dwaik, director general of the Palestinian Independent Commission for Human Rights, or ICHR, told China Daily in an interview that international experiences in disarmament call for a parallel, genuine political process that would give Hamas a compelling reason to disarm.

Integration programs

"You need to give their people tangible, political achievements (like) pardons and integration programs. And usually, the process of disarmament takes a long time," said Al-Dwaik, citing Northern Ireland's Good Friday Agreement between the Irish and UK governments that saw disarmament taking place over seven years.

"We don't see this happening now in Palestine. We see pressure on the Palestinians to disarm without providing any tangible political aid or even any horizon for a political process," Al-Dwaik said.

"We see expansion of the occupation in the West Bank, entrenchment of the occupation in the West Bank," he added.

He said they are concerned that having a stabilization force on the ground "might lead to stabilizing occupation and also normalizing occupation", instead of helping end the occupation.

"What we need is empowerment of Palestinians, rather than bringing forces to govern them," said Al-Dwaik.

In December, the Israeli security cabinet approved 19 new settlement outposts in the West Bank. Trump had previously said he would not allow Israeli annexation of the West Bank and reaffirmed this view during his meeting with Netanyahu at Mar-a-Lago Club in Palm Beach, Florida, on Dec 29.

Coupled with the West Bank news was a report from British research agency Forensic Architecture, which found from satellite imagery that Israel had constructed at least 13 new military outposts in Gaza, consolidated existing military infrastructure, built roads, and destroyed more Palestinian property.

Israeli NGO B'Tselem said in a post on X on Dec 25 that since the "ceasefire" was declared on Oct 10, Israel "has been continuing its onslaught on the ground", alleging that forces have killed 405 Palestinians and injured 1,114 throughout the Gaza Strip as of Dec 22.

Saul Takahashi, former deputy head of the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights in occupied Palestine, argued that Trump's plan "is not a peace plan at all", but a plan for "colonial domination and exploitation of Gaza".

"There is no point in talking about the 'two-state solution', as there is one side that has refused it for decades, and that side is Israel," Takahashi told China Daily.

He also said it was not about Netanyahu or any particular "right-wing Israeli politician".

"Israel has a Basic Law (equivalent to a Constitution) stating explicitly that only the Jewish people have self-determination in all of the 'Land of Israel' (all of Mandate Palestine, and maybe much of Lebanon, Syria, and other countries)," said Takahashi. Mandate Palestine, or Mandatory Palestine, was a British administrative territory that existed between 1920 and 1948 in the region of Palestine.

"Israel has not only been committing genocide in Gaza, but is also ethnically cleansing the West Bank, and committing blatant aggression against other countries in the region. Israel needs to be held accountable for its continuing violations of international law," he said.

According to an Al Jazeera report published on Dec 29, citing Armed Conflict Location and Event Data, or ACLED, an independent and impartial conflict monitor, Israel attacked at least six states in 2025, including Palestine, Iran, Lebanon, Qatar, Syria, and Yemen and also carried out strikes in Tunisian, Maltese and Greek territorial waters on aid flotillas heading for Gaza. It attacked more countries than any other country in 2025.

These attacks occurred even after South Africa launched a case at the International Court of Justice in December 2023 alleging Israel was committing genocide in the Gaza Strip. Brazil, Colombia, Ireland, Mexico, Spain and Turkiye joined the proceedings with Belgium, becoming the latest country to join in December.

One of the recommendations made by those countries to get Israel to comply is the warning to suspend all military, trade and diplomatic relations with Israel.

Most recently, Israel moved to recognize Somaliland, being the first state to do so.

Reshaping regional dynamics

Gokhan Batu, an analyst on Israel studies at the Center for Middle Eastern Studies in Turkiye, told China Daily that Israel's recognition of Somaliland, in the Horn of Africa, "should not be viewed in isolation, but rather as part of a broader effort to reshape regional dynamics in line with Israel's security priorities".

"Israeli strategic thinking increasingly reflects a sense of encirclement and a belief that traditional diplomatic gains — such as those pursued through the Abraham Accords (which established diplomatic ties between Israel and several Arab states) — are no longer sufficient. As a result, Israel has combined military assertiveness in its immediate neighborhood with diplomatic activism in the periphery," said Batu.

Al-Dwaik of the ICHR said Israelis think that they "can solve any problem by force".

"And if they can't solve it by force, they need more force. And we see that happening in Lebanon, in Syria, in Gaza. I don't see a discourse in Israel about peace or about recognizing the right of Palestinians, not only through self-determination. But even to dignity and even more basic human rights," said Al-Dwaik.

Beilin, the former Israeli government official, stressed that the two-state solution is the only solution for Israel.

"What you have to do, really is to help us get to a peaceful solution. To invite the parties, to invite the nongovernmental organizations on both sides and to see what can be done," said Beilin. He proposed the establishment of a Confederation of Palestine and Israel.

Al-Dwaik said the military approach of Israel is unsustainable.

"You cannot keep fighting all your neighbors and killing forever with also your limited number of population. The number of Israelis is not very high so they cannot sustain their number of military operations. They need, at some point, to find a way to coexist with their neighbors — the Arabs and Muslims in the region," said Al-Dwaik.