Sinwar’s death presents a new challenge to Israel and Hamas

Many cogent examples demonstrate that even the most extremist organizations came to recognize that the continuation of their conflicts became futile and self-destructive, and they were forced to change course.

Irish Republican Army (IRA)

The Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) was the largest and most notable republican paramilitary force during the Troubles. After decades of violent conflict and a military and political stalemate, it agreed to a ceasefire in 1997. It played a crucial role in the peace process, leading to the 1998 Good Friday Agreement. The IRA officially declared its war against the British government over in 2005, and Sinn Féin, the political party heavily linked with it, is now the largest political party in the Northern Ireland Assembly.

Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) FARC, a Marxist-Leninist guerrilla group, waged a violent insurgency in Colombia for over 50 years, promoting agrarianism and anti-imperialism. However, facing military setbacks and changing political realities, the group entered into peace negotiations with the Colombian government and eventually signed a peace agreement in 2016, transforming into a legal political party that debuted the following year.

Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF)

The MILF, an Islamist separatist group in the Philippines, fought for decades to establish an independent Islamic state in the southern Philippines and had decades of various negotiations with the government over autonomy without any lasting agreement. However, after these years of negotiations, the group signed a comprehensive peace agreement with the Philippine government in 2014, and in return, the government granted expanded autonomy to Muslims in the south in 2018.

These examples demonstrate that even long-standing extremist organizations can eventually choose to abandon violence and pursue their objectives through peaceful means when faced with no other choice. The Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) itself is yet another example; in 1993, the PLO and the Israeli government reached an agreement on mutual recognition (the Oslo Accords), and Chairman Arafat renounced the use of violence to achieve its goals.

There is not a single Arab state that sheds a single tear for the demise of Sinwar or Haniyeh and, for that matter, for the near-decimation of Hamas' military capabilities. They have witnessed, however, the horrific death of tens of thousands of innocent Palestinians in Gaza and the massive destruction that laid much of Gaza in ruin. They can no longer ignore the Palestinian plight nor the outcry of their publics in support of the Palestinians.

Thus, no Arab state, especially Saudi Arabia, would dare normalize relations with Israel unless Israel agrees on a binding path that would lead to the establishment of a Palestinian state. Israel should take a special note of the fact that Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states are negotiating with Iran to normalize relations (Israel's sworn enemy) to avert future Iranian threats instead of seeking an alliance with Israel to deny Iran's aspiration for regional hegemony.

I have no illusion that Netanyahu and his government would adopt such an 'unconventional' approach to seek a solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict with Hamas factored in. This simply will not happen under Netanyahu's watch. It is time for the Israelis to rid themselves of a warmonger who wants to live by the sword and drag Israel with him to the abyss.

The whole Arab world still is ready to embrace Israel, provided that Israel embraces the Palestinians' right to self-determination. The long and painful history of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, culminating with the Gaza war, precludes any other alternative for as long as it takes.