The acts of terrorism committed by Hamas against Israeli civilians and the unprecedented loss of civilian life from Israel’s counterinsurgency operation in Gaza over the past 2 1/2 months are heartbreaking. I weep for every civilian killed and every family torn apart.
The United States has a responsibility to do everything in its power to prevent future suffering and allow aid to flow into Gaza to address the ongoing humanitarian crisis. But the tools we have to use must acknowledge three realities:
1. The rise of extreme voices in Israel and Palestine substantially increased political volatility in the years leading up to the Oct. 7 attacks.
2. Every country — including, but not limited, to Israel — has an absolute right to defend itself and its citizens from external attacks.
3. The only path to a permanent, durable cease-fire is the creation of two fully independent and peaceful states between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea.
I am not a foreign policy expert but have traveled extensively in the region and met with political leaders and civil society in Israel and the West Bank. I also have the privilege to represent one of the largest Palestinian American communities in the country.
In the aftermath of Oct. 7, much of the domestic debate has focused on the need for a cease-fire. Which we all want — but a meaningful cease-fire has to be durable and bilateral and come with accountability. Neither a unilateral cease-fire nor a return to the brittle conditions of Oct. 6 is sufficient.
So how do we get there? I believe that goal is paced by four distinct issues.
First, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
In all likelihood, the prime minister’s political career is over when the war ends. He is also facing corruption charges that may carry even greater penalties. Americans are all too familiar with the risks posed to a democracy when such figures see their political lives coming to an end. A lasting peace requires first that Netanyahu does not prolong the war to preserve his own political career and, second, that a post-Netanyahu Israel does not double down on the authoritarian, far-right politics he has espoused.
Second, Hamas.
Let us assume success in the first goal. That means an Israel that reverses the expansion of settlements, treats the Palestinian Authority as a partner for peace and ideally puts us back on a path to something like the Oslo Accords. How do we ensure that Hamas is still held accountable for its actions on Oct. 7 and is fully demilitarized and that its methods are not seen as the necessary agent of that peace? How do we ensure that Palestinian civil society doesn’t perceive that peace as being the direct result of Hamas’ violence on Oct. 7?
Third, Iran.
The current war between Israel and Hamas is only the latest battle in a decadeslong proxy war as Iran seeks to expand its regional influence. Hundreds of thousands of lives have been lost in Yemen and Syria alone. Iran’s hostility to Israel is well known in the U.S.; its hostility to all who don’t share its desire for a Shia caliphate is a reality for too many in the region. Iran is closer to a nuclear weapon than it was before Donald Trump’s maximum pressure campaign, and its malign influence has only increased. Regional peace depends on fundamentally changing the Iranian government’s mode of engagement with its neighbors.
And finally, the Abraham Accords.
The last few years have brought normalization and commercial relationships between Israel and Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Morocco and Sudan. In the weeks before Oct. 7, Israel was rumored to be closing in on a similar arrangement with Saudi Arabia. That is a necessary and positive step toward a regional peace. However, the Trump administration developed these arrangements in tandem with a proposed map for a future Palestinian state that was riddled with settlement expansion in the West Bank. The threat of isolation from the broader Arab world has arguably contributed to a closer alliance between certain Palestinian groups and Iran — to the detriment of regional peace. How shall we expand the peace of the Abraham Accords without placing that progress in opposition to Iranian and Palestinian interests?
The U.S. can, and will, continue to engage and — where necessary — use diplomatic pressure on Israel, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and other states in the region to help make these futures possible. To stop settlement expansion in the West Bank and take actions against settler violence. To make it clear that Israel’s war is against Hamas, not the Palestinian people, and minimize civilian casualties as it maximizes humanitarian assistance. To work with regional partners to rebuild Gaza and provide trusted security and equal rights to the Palestinian people. To identify, elevate and, when appropriate, empower moderate voices on both sides of the green line who will be partners in this effort. To continue to advance normalization of relations between Israel and all of their neighbors — including a fully autonomous Palestinian state.
This will not be easy. And it is impossible as long as either side is led by those who call for a single state from the river to the sea.
But it is necessary and desperately overdue.
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U.S. Rep. Sean Casten represents Illinois’ 6th Congressional District.
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