The Palestinian issue is an intractable morass of conflicting goals and expectations. The people in Gaza would naturally love to live in peace and security instead of being at the mercy of Israeli guns and military personnel. This situation has persisted for decades. US President Donald Trump recently suggested that the people living in Gaza should be relocated to some other area on the planet. To the mind of this author, that recommendation makes perfect sense. Historical evidence suggests that the surrounding Arab nations have a vested interest in maintaining the current status quo. Women and children are continually starved, massacred, and brutalized with a variety of cruel weapons of war. Their neighbors watch, the Europeans spectate, the Americans philosophize and moralize, but to date, nothing tangible has been done to change the downward trajectory of pain, misery, and death.

On 7 October 2023, Hamas-led militant groups launched a surprise attack on Israel, in which 1,195 Israelis and foreign nationals, including 815 civilians, were killed, and 251 taken hostage with the stated goal of forcing Israel to release Palestinian prisoners. After clearing militants from its territory, Israel launched a bombing campaign and invaded Gaza on 27 October with the stated objectives of destroying Hamas and freeing the hostages. Israeli forces launched numerous campaigns during the invasion, including the Rafah offensive from May 2024, three battles fought around Khan Yunis, and the siege of North Gaza from October 2024, and have assassinated Hamas leaders inside and outside of Gaza. A temporary ceasefire in November 2023 broke down, and a second ceasefire in January 2025 ended with a surprise attack by Israel in March 2025. WIKIPEDIA: The Gaza War

Why has this Palestinian dilemma been dragged out for so long? Since I was a child, over several decades, there have been discussions about peace, justice, security, and tranquility. But for some strange reason, such goals and objectives appear to be mercurial at best. In fact, with each passing era, the Palestinian cause becomes more desperate, the people become more oppressed, and their lives become more miserable.

Ambassadors met in person in New York as a fragile cessation of hostilities continues to hold, following 11 days of deadly conflict this month which engulfed the Occupied Palestinian Territory and several cities across Israel. “These recent events have made clear once again the costs of perpetual conflict and lost hope”, said Mr Wennesland, officially the UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process. He spoke via teleconference from Jerusalem, and shortly after the UN and partners announced a $95 million flash appeal to support people in Gaza and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem. 

Political and humanitarian response 

Mr Wennesland stressed the need for the sides to return to the negotiating table, though warning against a “business as usual” approach. “At the end, it is the lack of the proverbial ‘light at the end of the tunnel’ – of a political horizon – after decades of conflict, that kills hope and provides space for those not interested in sustainable peace. ”, he said. “Only through negotiations that end the occupation and create a viable two-State solution, on the basis of UN resolutions, international law and mutual agreements, with Jerusalem as the capital of both States, can we hope to bring a definitive end to these senseless and costly cycles of violence.” UNITED NATIONS: Peace And Security, 27 May 2021. 

As far as the Israelis are concerned, sharing Jerusalem, the Capital of Israel, with the Palestinians is a non-starter. Jerusalem was taken in battle from the Jebusites by King David.

When David’s men captured Jerusalem in c.1004BC, the city was much smaller than it is today, and was confined to the low north-south ridge called Ophel (meaning ‘the hump’) to the south of what is now the Temple Mount. David’s heavily armed men took the defenders by surprise as they climbed up through the narrow vertical shaft and sloping tunnel that enabled the Jebusites to haul water up from the Gihon Spring (the ‘gusher spring’) outside the city wall into their fortified city on top of Ophel Hill. After being occupied by David’s forces, the old Jebusite city became known as the City of David and the ridge on which it stood was renamed Mount Zion (see Map 61). Excavated remains of the old Jebusite city wall, and the ancient underground water system, including the section now known as Warren’s Shaft, can still be visited today. The underground water tunnel can be entered via a spiral staircase descending from the top of Ophel Hill near the observation point. This leads downhill to the Gihon Spring, on the floor of the Kidron Valley, a short distance to the south of the El Aqsa Mosque. The Gihon Spring can also be visited directly from the road running through the Kidron Valley. THE BIBLE JOURNEY: David Captures Jerusalem.

 “And the king and his men went to Jerusalem against the Jebusites, the inhabitants of the land, who spoke to David, saying, “You shall not come in here; but the blind and the lame will repel you,” thinking, “David cannot come in here.” Nevertheless David took the stronghold of Zion (that is, the City of David). Now David said on that day, “Whoever climbs up by way of the water shaft and defeats the Jebusites (the lame and the blind, who are hated by David’s soul), he shall be chief and captain.” Therefore they say, “The blind and the lame shall not come into the house.” Then David dwelt in the stronghold, and called it the City of David. And David built all around from the Millo and inward. So David went on and became great, and the Lord God of hosts was with him.” 2 Samuel 5:6-10

What Palestinian demands are unreasonable?

My understanding is that the Palestinians are demanding four fundamental things:

1. The whole of the pre-1967 borders, including Gaza and the West Bank, minor and mutual adjustments notwithstanding.
2. A capital in East Jerusalem.
3. A sovereign state.
4. A just resolution to the refugee question.
5. Precisely what is ‘just’ is subject to interpretation.

(TO BE CONTINUED).