‘It is essential that Gaza’s suffering is alleviated’

Halfway through the interview with former diplomat, peace negotiator and Middle East expert Dennis Ross, his big blue iPhone rings. His youngest daughter, on her way to Washington, calls to let her know when her train will arrive. And like everyone he speaks to, she asks Ross to explain the situation in Gaza and Israel. What does he think about the hostage deal and the break in the fighting?

“It is necessary. It will halt their military momentum and increase pressure for a real ceasefire. They won’t do that,” he says of Israel. “But it is essential to alleviate the situation for the people of Gaza now.”

Dennis Ross (he turns 75 this Sunday) was already involved in American policy in the Middle East under Presidents Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan and George Bush senior before Bill Clinton made him his special envoy for the region in the early 1990s. He was a prominent negotiator of the Oslo Accords, which established self-government for the Palestinians, until the failure of Camp David to achieve peace. From 2008 to 2011, he advised the Obama administration on Israel and Iran. Since then he has been affiliated with the Washington Institute, an academic think tank for the Middle East that is seen as pro-Israel. He was mentioned “but never asked” as a possible ambassador to Israel when Biden took office in 2020.

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Hadar Kalderon campaigned in Tel Aviv on Tuesday for an agreement between Hamas and Israel on the release of hostages. Her daughter Sahar is being held by Hamas with her husband. On Wednesday, an agreement was reached on a pause in fighting and the release of hostages and Palestinian prisoners. ” class=”dmt-article-suggestion__image” src=”https://images.nrc.nl/lUyF7BobWH-dDYmWKdvkbEn1iVc=/160×96/smart/filters:no_upscale()/s3/static.nrc.nl/images/gn4/stripped/data108376870-fc251d.jpg”/>

Ross wrote several books about the failed peace process and about the role of the United States in the world. He has known both Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Joe Biden for decades. He cannot elicit a character sketch of Netanyahu, but he is deeply impressed by the way Biden has acted since Hamas’ terrorist attack on October 7 and the Israeli retaliation in Gaza.

“Biden is very consistent. He has said from the beginning that Hamas should no longer pose a threat to Israel. It is difficult to imagine how that goal can be achieved without destroying the military infrastructure and without Hamas losing political control over Gaza. The fact that Biden immediately went to Israel, which no president has ever done during a war, gives him enormous credit there,” Ross said. “The only American presidents who can truly influence Israel are those who can convey that they understand their predicament. Israelis see Biden and say ‘he understands us’. He can use that political capital to ask Israel to do more to provide humanitarian relief for the residents of Gaza.”

It is said that Biden is the only one whom Netanyahu listens to.

“Netanyahu mainly has to listen to his own people. ‘October 7’ was the first time we have seen such a violent, horrific attack on Israeli civilians. The fact that the killing of babies was filmed and celebrated is causing great outrage. Israelis demand that every effort be made to eliminate the threat from Hamas. The international call to spare Palestinian lives is met with the response ‘why should we do anything for them if they are killing us and holding our hostages?’. There is no appetite for a ceasefire in Israel, from left to right.”

Middle East expertDennis Ross If there were no humanitarian respite now, the American position against Israel would harden

And Israel can do that with infinite and unconditional support from the Biden administration?

“The support is neither infinite nor unconditional, I think. If there were no humanitarian respite now, the American position against Israel would harden the pressure is increased. At some point he will ask for a ceasefire, but for now that only helps Hamas.

“Precisely because Biden is so popular in Israel, Netanyahu can hide behind him: if we want the Americans to continue to support us as they do now, we must take this humanitarian pause. He has to justify this to the Israeli public and that is not easy.”

Biden’s endorsement also came with a warning: “don’t do what we did after September 11.” How does that work out?

“I hear from people in the government that there were fears of a second Falluja (an Iraqi city where the Americans suffered heavy losses after the 2003 invasion). But Israel subdued northern Gaza surprisingly quickly, with few deaths on its own side. That was thought impossible.”

Unlike when you were a negotiator, public support for Israel in the US is less obvious. Congress has not yet passed a $14 billion military assistance package.

“The disagreement in the House and Senate has less to do with Israel than with the political polarization and paralysis here. There is simply a majority in favor of supporting Israel, Ukraine has more to fear in that regard. The fact that the money has been delayed is very annoying, but not insurmountable for Israel. It is an American signal to the rest of the world: you cannot count on us being able to deliver on everything we say, as in the past.”

There is a lot of sympathy for the Palestinians among young voters of the Democratic party. The calls for a ceasefire are loud. What does that mean for Biden?

“It is essential that emergency aid to Palestinians starts quickly. That we see hundreds of trucks with aid going into Gaza. Young Americans see the suffering, the human cost, of the Palestinians and are moved by it. Me, too. How can you see so much suffering and so much life lost and not care? If aid gets underway, it will reduce domestic pressure on Biden.”

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Biden currently seems more popular in Israel than in the US.

“Absolutely, Biden would win elections in Israel convincingly. He is many times more popular there than Netanyahu. We will have to wait and see whether he will win the next elections here. In a way that helps him internationally. Other countries fear that they will soon have to deal with Trump again and will therefore want to help Biden in mediating with Israel.”

Netanyahu would prefer Trump, right?

“It will take another year before elections are held here and Netanyahu now has to deal with Biden’s popularity in his own country, he cannot ignore that.”

How do you see the generational shift from support for Israel to support for Palestine?

“I teach at (Georgetown University) and the ignorance of students is shocking. They use the term genocide without knowing what it means: Israel is not systematically exterminating the Palestinians. They see, without historical awareness, Israel as a colonial state and white privilege.

“But I have the feeling that the most progressives who found each other in ‘America is the source of all evil’ are now divided. Because of the invasion of Ukraine, where you have to tie yourself into a pretzel to argue that it is our fault, and now the indefensible attack of October 7. Part of the progressive movement realizes this, while another part becomes radicalized. It remains a constituency that Biden must take into account, but it could make them less politically relevant. A lot depends on how hot the fighting in Gaza remains.”

In addition to supporting Israel and alleviating Palestinian suffering, preventing regional escalation is an important US goal. Can that be called a success?

“It has been a success so far. The deployment of American forces (on two aircraft carriers) has had a deterrent effect. You see that Iran does not want to be sucked in and Hezbollah cannot ignore how unpopular a war in Lebanon would be. They say they support Hamas, but that’s all there is to it. Although the risk of escalation remains.

“I was in Saudi Arabia this month and I see that Arab countries are willing to do more than in the past. They had left the Palestinians to their fate. Now I foresee them taking responsibility for the reconstruction of Gaza. They are increasing pressure on the Palestinian Authority to reform and be a serious partner again. This is necessary for the future of Gaza, as Biden said in his opinion article in the Washington Post wrote.

“Hope for a two-state solution seemed to have been given up, but is now coming back into focus. It will be a demand for further talks between the Saudis and Israel.”

negotiator of the Oslo AccordsDennis Ross The hope for a two-state solution seemed to have been given up, but is now coming back into focus

How hopeful are you?

“You can’t focus on this region for as long as I have if you don’t always keep hope. What has happened now is a catastrophe on all levels. Israel will never be the same and must deal with the trauma of October 7 and have a debate about what kind of relationship it wants with the Palestinians. But this also shows what the Palestinians have endured and are now enduring again. The occupation (of the West Bank) must end. I think there will be opportunities in the aftermath of this.”

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