Israel’s Trajectory is not Sustainable

posted on: Jul 30, 2025

By: Ghassan Rubeiz / Arab America Contributing Writer

The international community’s failure to address Palestinian suffering is no longer morally defensible. On Monday, the United Nations convened an international meeting to remind the world that the neglected two-state solution is still viable. But at this point, it’s clear that over the past two years, the Gaza conflict has provided cover for Israel’s effort to legitimize its occupation of Arab territories and cement its position as the Middle East’s dominant power.

Israel has employed four main tactics to defend and expand its territorial control: silencing critics with charges of antisemitism; converting occupied land into political and economic assets; forging divisive regional partnerships; and maintaining the region’s only nuclear arsenal.

Using charges of antisemitism as a political shield: Israel systematically uses charges of antisemitism to suppress opposition to its actions. Israel’s ultranationalists refuse to acknowledge that its conduct in Gaza is fueling anger across the globe, especially among the world’s two billion Muslims. This tactic perversely reinforces antisemitism by conflating opposition to Israel with anti-Jewish animus, effectively painting Judaism as a political ideology instead of a religious faith. This approach shuts down legitimate criticism while undermining genuine efforts to combat real prejudice against Jewish people. https://www.jewishvoiceforpeace.org/2021/02/08/ihra/

Transforming Occupation into Political Capital: Israel has mastered the art of normalizing territorial occupation through gradual annexation. By treating the West Bank occupation as permanent, Israel has effectively normalized what international law considers illegal. Simultaneously pursuing the annexation of the West Bank, reoccupying Gaza, and facilitating population transfer represents the fulfillment of a long-held ultranationalist dream: erasing Palestine from the map.

Building Divisive Regional Alliances: Israel’s regional partnerships rest on unfulfilled promises and strategic manipulation. Peace treaties with Egypt and Jordan, sustained primarily through American financial incentives to Cairo and Amman, depend on promised future withdrawal from Palestinian territories. Recent normalization agreements with Morocco, the UAE, and Bahrain, known as the  Abraham Accords, follow a similar pattern. Morocco received recognition of its claims to the Western Sahara, and the Gulf states gained protection against future threats from Iran, as well as business deals with the United States. Israel’s recent outreach to Kurdish communities in Syria and Iraq, Syrian Druze populations, and right-wing Lebanese Christian factions follows the same playbook: offering military and economic support to foster regional fragmentation that serves short-term Israeli interests.

Nuclear Monopoly and Regional Enforcement: With tacit European and American support, Israel has become the Middle East’s sole nuclear power while evading international oversight. Over the past five decades, as the region’s self-appointed nuclear watchdog, Israel has launched devastating attacks on Iraq, Syria, and Iran to prevent any other regional nuclear development, civilian or military. This nuclear monopoly operates completely outside the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, which Israel has not signed.

Israel’s aggressive regional expansion continues despite mounting international scrutiny, sustained by what appears to be unwavering American support and European indifference. But this cannot go on indefinitely. International patience is wearing thin, global power dynamics are shifting, and new international alignments are emerging. In response, Israel must ultimately choose between building genuine regional relationships based on justice or continuing down a path of division and dominance that will ultimately prove untenable.

Ghassan Rubeiz is the former Middle East Secretary of the World Council of Churches. Earlier, he taught psychology and social work in his country of birth, Lebanon, and later in the United States, where he currently lives. He has contributed to political commentary for the past twenty years and delivered occasional public talks on peace, justice, and interfaith subjects. You can reach him at rubeizg@gmail.com

The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the position of Arab America. The reproduction of this article is permissible with proper credit to Arab America and the author.

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