Yogyakarta, October 16th 2023─The Hamas attack on Israel launched on Saturday (7/10) reignited the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. The political tension has existed since 1917 and has claimed millions of lives. Various peace efforts through the UN and other third parties have also not produced results. This time, the DIHI Talks series by the Department of International Relations, Faculty of Social and Political Sciences UGM, in line with the goal of world peace in SGDs 16, raised the issue under the title “Hamas-Israel 2023: A New Chapter of Middle East Conflict or Peace” on Friday (13/10).
“Hamas’ position is as the occupied. So if he doesn’t fight back, it’s strange. Sometimes existence must be shown through violence. Moreover, with the Abraham Accords, Hamas’ position is even more pressed. This is an extraordinary humanitarian event. The latest number of victims reached 3,000. And how to solve this is what we need to find out,” said Dr. Siti Muti’ah Setiawati, MA. The Hamas attack this time was motivated as a result of Israeli pressure on Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. This led to a counterattack from Israel with a declaration of war and Tel Aviv’s attack on Gaza.
According to Siti, the Palestinian-Israeli issue is similar to the Indonesia-Dutch conflict in the past. It took long negotiations and endless wars for Indonesia to achieve independence. “The efforts of the UN have been made in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. Actually, it is quite similar to the conflict between Indonesia and the Netherlands that involved the UN. But even that conflict is said to be the only successful conflict. Because Indonesia did not only go through violence, but also negotiations,” Siti added.
If we look at Israel’s profile as the authority occupying Gaza, it relies heavily on the security aspect. All steps and strategies taken, whether for Israel itself or its relations with other countries, the majority prioritize the security aspect. This principle certainly influences the dynamics of Palestinian-Israeli relations. In fact, Israel is also touted as a country with highly advanced security technology. But apparently, the Hamas attack last Saturday was quite unexpected and made Israel’s defenses falter.
“If I see it, Israel is a country with strong securitization, and relies heavily on it. Hamas attacks on Israel are not new. But apparently, this also does not make Israel immune to attacks from outside. And this phenomenon will continue to repeat itself, until resistance parties step in. Maybe this is not a 50-year Palestinian-Israeli ritual, but it will most likely keep repeating itself. Well, Israel’s political policy will determine whether this time there is a step of peace, or this conflict will continue,” said Drs. Muhadi Sugiono, MA.
Both Palestinians and Israelis need to be open to peaceful steps. Indonesia has always been on the side of Palestine, in accordance with the constitution that states that all forms of world colonialism must be abolished. However, the choice of violence will never open up peace without negotiations. For this reason, international contributions are needed to help both parties find peace. Thus, the conflict that has claimed millions of innocent lives can be stopped.