Why can Israel and US not agree on the basic principles of diplomacy?

The job of the world’s superpower is to lead by example and to encourage its allies to seek engagement and to find resolutions. Opposing sides talk, enemies communicate, parties negotiate. All agree on nothing except the need to stop the killing and to start the talking – unless, it seems, if it’s Palestine against Israel.

The lack of dialogue in this conflict flies in the face of stated US policy and it shows America’s hypocrisy.

“Negotiations are how diplomats from different countries find solutions to, or compromise on, contested issues,” said Wendy Sherman, Deputy Secretary of State, in a June 2023 video from the National Museum of American Diplomacy.

Agree with it or not, talking is how diplomats attempt to bridge the gap to improve the lives of those most deeply affected by war, famine, and poverty.

Of course, the sentiment in the Arab World today is that we are beyond talking. But the first step has to be dialogue. That might be too simplistic an approach and it is not the ideal solution – nor will it fix everything – but it must never be too late to start talking.

In the most complicated situations, the starting point is the most obvious solution. The US knows this. The White House, for instance, spoke with the Taliban to agree on how America could best extricate itself from Afghanistan.

And two weeks ago, on October 29, when referring to the Sudanese Armed Forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, the US State Department said both sides should “approach the talks constructively” as they try to settle the issues that have engulfed the African nation in a six-month civil war.

When looking at the situation in Gaza, talking must involve the key players, not just US-Israeli spy chiefs speaking through a third-party intermediary, as has been reported in the past few days. The combatants must engage in a dialogue.

Diplomacy works because the more powerful combatant recognises its position and reaches across the battlefield to acknowledge the other side.

And Israel is definitely more powerful.

Israel receives $3.8 billion annually in military aid from the United States; and, about 10 days ago, the US House of Representatives passed a plan for an additional $14.5 billion in military aid to Israel. The bill has been sent to the Senate for approval.

A U.S. News & World Report in October found that American administrations have given Israel a quarter of a trillion dollars in military and economic aid in the past 75 years.

Conversely, a CNN story published on its website on October 13, said that Hamas has homemade rockets and modified AK-47s. “Many of the weapons appeared to be altered Russian or Chinese firearms, presumedly left behind on the battlefield in decades past that eventually made their way into the hands of Hamas.”

This is the reality of the situation.

Israel – with prodding from the United States – must acknowledge that whatever it wants, it must start with talking. Bombing hospitals is not going to give Israel the security it says it so desperately desires.

When Lana Nusseibeh, the UAE’s ambassador to the UN, spoke at a Security Council meeting on Saturday, she said just that.

If war indeed has laws that must be adhered to, then the most basic principle of humanity must also be followed: stop the killing. The best way to make that happen is to start the talking.