The official Israeli strategy is outright territorial expansion and the permanent denial of Palestinian self-determination
THREE dominant narratives contend for the future of Gaza and Palestine, yet only one is being translated into consequential action: The Israeli narrative of domination and genocide. This singular, violent vision is the only one backed by the brute force of policy and fact.
The first narrative belongs to the US administration, largely embraced by America’s Western allies. It rests on the claim that US President Donald Trump personally solved the Middle East crisis, ushering in a peace that has supposedly eluded the region for thousands of years. Figures like Trump, his son-in-law Jared Kushner and US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee are presented as architects of a new regional order.
This narrative is exclusive, domineering and US-centric. It was exemplified by Trump himself when he declared the Gaza conflict “over” and presented a peace plan that strategically avoided any clear commitment to Palestinian statehood. The entire vision is built on transactional diplomacy and a dismissal of international legal consensus, positioning US approval as the sole measure of legitimacy.
The second narrative is that of the Palestinians, supported by Arab nations and much of the Global South. Here, the goal is Palestinian freedom and rights grounded in international law and humanitarian principles.
This discourse is frequently shaped by statements from top Arab officials. Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty, for example, asserted in April that the two-state solution is the only way “to achieve security and stability in this region.” He added a warning: “If we disregard international law … this will open the way for the law of the jungle to prevail.” This narrative continues to insist on international law as central to true regional peace.
The third narrative is Israel’s — and it is the only one backed by concrete, aggressive policy. This vision is written through sustained, systematic violence against civilians, aggressive land seizures, deliberate home demolitions and explicit government declarations that a Palestinian state will never be permitted. Its actors operate with chilling impunity, rapidly creating irreversible facts on the ground. Crucially, the failure to enforce accountability for this pervasive violence is the primary reason Israel has been able to sustain its devastating genocide in Gaza for two full years.
This narrative is not theoretical; it is articulated through the acts and legislative pushes of the highest-ranking Israeli government officials.
National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir last week appeared at a Knesset session wearing a noose-shaped pin while pushing for a death penalty bill targeting Palestinian prisoners. The minister stated that the noose was “just one of the options” through which the death penalty might be implemented, also listing “the option of hanging, the electric chair and … lethal injection.”
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, meanwhile, announced an allocation of $843 million to expand illegal settlements over the next five years, a massive step toward formal annexation. This unprecedented funding is specifically earmarked to relocate military bases, establish absorption clusters of mobile homes and create a dedicated land registry to formalise Israeli governmental control over the West Bank.
This policy of territorial expansion is cemented by the head of government, as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu himself made it clear that “there will not be a Palestinian state. It’s very simple: it will not be established.” He described its potential creation as “an existential threat to Israel.” This unequivocal rejection confirms that the official Israeli government strategy is outright territorial expansion and the permanent denial of Palestinian self-determination.
None of these Israeli officials have shown the slightest interest in Trump’s peace plan or in the Palestinian vision of statehood. Netanyahu’s core objective is ensuring that international law is never implemented, that no semblance of Palestinian sovereignty is established and that Israel can contravene the law at a time and manner of its choosing.
The fact is that these narratives cannot continue to coexist. Only real accountability — through political, legal and economic pressure — can halt Israel’s advance toward continuing its genocidal campaign, destruction and punitive legislation. This must include the swift imposition of sanctions on Israel and its top officials, comprehensive arms embargoes against Tel Aviv to end its ongoing wars and full accountability at the International Criminal Court and International Court of Justice.
As long as the supporters of the pro-Palestine narrative lack the tools to enforce its principles, Israel and its Western backers will see no reason to alter course. States must replace symbolic gestures and prioritise aggressive, proactive accountability measures. This means moving beyond simple verbal condemnation and applying concrete legal and economic pressure.
Israel is now more isolated than ever, with public opinion rapidly collapsing globally. This isolation must be leveraged by pro-Palestine forces through coordinated, decisive diplomatic action, pushing for a unified global front that demands the enforcement of international law and the holding of Israel and its many war criminals accountable for their ongoing crimes.
A lasting peace can only be built on the foundation of justice, not on the military reality established by an aggressor that does not hesitate to employ genocide in the service of its political designs. This is the undeniable moral frontier: confronting and dismantling the impunity that allows a state to pursue extermination as a political tool.
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Dr Ramzy Baroud is a journalist, author and the Editor of The Palestine Chronicle. He is the author of six books. He is a Non-resident Senior Research Fellow at the Centre for Islam and Global Affairs (CIGA). His website is www.ramzybaroud.net
