Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, who has embraced the Gaza peace plan, last month called on the international community to “stop the Israeli government’s undermining of the Palestinian Authority and the two-state solution.”
He has also affirmed the readiness of institutions within the authority to assume administrative responsibility for Gaza and to link it with the West Bank, with Arab and international support and coordination.
‘Better ideas’ to counter Hamas ideology
For the past 20 years since leaving Shabak, Ayalon has been a prominent advocate for the two-state solution. He argues this with patriotism and the long-term security of Israel in mind, as well as from a position of authority based on his experience as a former Shabak boss.
Ayalon’s watched the war in Gaza with rising exasperation. It was a just war at the start, he says. But he mocks the whole idea that peace will follow, and Israel will be safe, once Hamas is vanquished militarily.
“We have to ask ourselves: What is Hamas all about? It is a radical Muslim organization with a military wing.” Since Hamas is a combination of an ideology and a military force, the idea of total victory is nonsense, he thinks. “And yes, you can defeat the military wing on the battlefield — but you cannot defeat its ideology with the use of military power,” he adds.
You need “better ideas” in order to defeat an ideology, he believes. The two-state solution — that is, an independent, sovereign Palestinian state alongside Israel — is the better idea to counter Hamas.