Israel’s Dream of Peace Ended with A Painful Awakening - Security for Israelis is now paramount

By: Joseph Puder

Friday, May 8, 2026

The tragedy of October Seven, 2023, has shaken and modified the mindset of ordinary Israelis. The same people who demonstrated in the thousands against Judicial Reform, which preceded the massacre of October Seven, were now eager to put on the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) uniform; leave behind ideological differences; and rush to the Gaza front. IDF mobilization exceeded expectations.  The “peaceniks” of yesterday became the warriors of today.  The long, societal dreams of peace and harmony with their Arab-Palestinian neighbors became an everlasting nightmare.

Israel has experienced an ideological transformation, at least with regard to peace with the Palestinians. The very people that were massacred in the most brutal way on October Seven were, what one might call, leftists in orientation. They were, in large part, against expanding Israeli settlements in Judea and Samaria and, generally voted for center-left parties that opposed Prime Minister Netanyahu. Many of the Palestinians they employed from the Gaza Strip were among those who murdered, kidnapped, raped, and looted them. The Israeli residents of the Gaza Envelope believed in peace and certainly did their part to advance it. They demanded more permits for Gazans to work in Israel so that they could improve their economic situation in the oppressive realty of the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip. And stories abound of those Israelis who ferried sick Gazans to hospitals in Israel.

Peace is one of the words most often cited in Jewish prayer books. For most Israelis peace with their Arab-Palestinian neighbors is still their most cherished dream. Israelis have paid a steep price fighting existential wars and Palestinian terrorism. There is hardly a family that has not been touched by war or Arab terror. The realization, however, that their wish for peace has time and again been dashed by Palestinian inflexibility and unreasonable demands.  One such demand is for Israel to absorb millions of Palestinian refugees in Israel. The quest to end the long conflict has been paid in blood. The Oslo Accords of 1993 was a perfect example of Israeli vulnerability to the siren call of peace and its disillusionment.

The late Prime Minister Itzhak Rabin (whom this reporter interviewed in early 1993) shared his resistance to dealing with Arafat and his Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO). Persuaded by Shimon Peres (then the Foreign Minister) to give peace a chance, Rabin conceded and approved negotiations with a PLO team in Oslo. Israelis supported the deal, which enabled Arafat to return from Tunisia and govern as President of the Palestinian Authority. Israel withdrew from Gaza and Jericho and, soon thereafter, from all major Palestinian populated cities. It was agreed that an interim period of five years would follow, and then permanent negotiations would take place to settle the difficult issues of Jerusalem, borders, security, refugees, etc.

Almost immediately Hamas terror began and a “revolving door” policy was enacted by Arafat.  He would detain a Palestinian(s) who had just murdered an Israeli(s) and, had them released overnight. Just prior to his taking office in Gaza and Jericho, Arafat gave a speech at a South African mosque in which he admitted that Oslo was a “Trojan Horse.” On numerous occasions Arafat would invoke the Treaty of al-Hudaybiya to legitimize the Oslo Accords to his followers. The treaty, made in 628 CE, between the Prophet Mohammad and the more powerful Quraysh tribe of Mecca, held until Mohammad felt strong enough in his Medina base to attack and conquer Mecca. Clearly, there was no sincere desire for peace on the part of Arafat or the Palestinians – they simply wanted to have a territorial base from which they could wage war against a weakened Israel.

At the Camp David Summit in July 2000, President Bill Clinton hosted Yasser Arafat and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak. Barak, encouraged by Clinton, made significant concessions. Arafat, however, decided to abandon the summit, realizing perhaps that by agreeing to a cessation of the conflict and the creation of a Palestinian state he might be assassinated. Arafat, ever the guerilla-fighter, had little interest in statecraft. Both Clinton and Barak then realized that the Palestinians were far more interested in destroying Israel, than they were in living side-by-side with the Jewish state. Subsequently, Arafat initiated the Second Intifada that cost the lives of over 1000 Israelis. Mahmoud Abbas, Arafat’s successor, stood to gain even more concessions from Israel’s Prime Minister Ehud Olmert in the 2008 negotiations. Like Arafat, he too rejected the opportunity for a Palestinian state.

Understanding that a peace-track with the Palestinians was useless, Prime Minister Netanyahu sought to contain the terrorist groups - Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ).  Four campaigns against Hamas-controlled Gaza did not, however, result in security for Israel, while Palestinian misery, particularly in Gaza under Hamas rule increased. The West Bank (Judea & Samaria) under Abbas’ rule was corrupt (he is currently in the 19th year of a 4-year term) and life for the Palestinians was only slightly better. The October Seven massacre reinforced the conviction for Netanyahu that Israel must eliminate the existential threats to Israel at all costs.

The detractors of Israel who blame the country for “massacres” in Gaza and Lebanon need to be reminded of historical facts and actions taken before rendering judgment. Unprecedentedly for militaries, the IDF has repeatedly warned the civilian population in Gaza and Lebanon to move to safe zones before acting. After October Seven, ensuring the safety of Israel’s population became paramount and meant destroying Hamas and its underground tunnels used to kidnap and kill Israeli civilians and soldiers. Similarly, Hezbollah’s Radwan Force in Lebanon, which, like Hamas’s Nukhba Force, had built extensive tunnels leading into Israeli territory that were used for storing lethal arms aimed at Israel. Hezbollah was also sought to cut the Galilee off from the rest of Israel. Israel preempted their malevolent plans by temporarily occupying Southern Lebanon and destroying the tunnels. Both in Gaza and Lebanon, Israel acted in response to unprovoked attacks by Hamas, and Hezbollah.

Perhaps peace can only come after decisive military action. The devastating blows inflicted on the Islamic Republic of Iran by Israel and the US and, the cutting off of the “snake’s heads” in Tehran from its proxies, may serve as an incentive for the Lebanese government and people to seek peace with Israel, now that Hezbollah has been seriously degraded. And ending of Hamas’ control in Gaza may push the Palestinians to consider alternatives to destroying Israel.