Why the path towards security goes through Palestinian self-determination
A year ago today, most of us would have never imagined Israeli pilots could fly freely in the skies of Tehran. Most of us – and most of the world – would have underestimated the sheer force available to Israel, its ability to attack everything from Basij military roadblocks to key components of an enemy state’s military-industrial complex. Few understood the extent of Israel’s capabilities, the global reach of its armed forces.
Half a year ago, many of us believed that this power had made Israel triumphant. “We removed two existential threats,” declared the current prime minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, on June 24, 2025, “the threat of annihilation by nuclear weapons and the threat of annihilation by 20,000 ballistic missiles.”
And today, in the first days of May 2026, as the United States and Iran kick off what may be another round of confrontation – Israel sidelined, a follower at best – there are few in Israel who can honestly say that it is by the strength of our hand that we will be victorious. Steadfast, yes. We’ve proven that we are no less stubborn than the Palestinians, no less willing to be chased from our land. But victorious, no. At least, not by might alone. The past year has clarified that no amount of Israeli firepower will enable us to defeat our enemies so thoroughly that they will surrender.
Which is why it has become increasingly obvious to most Israelis I speak with that we’re at a moment of Ein Breira, of no choice, of no other alternative: since Israel will not be able to achieve victory through force, it will have to do so through building regional alliances. Through working with Arab allies to develop a new narrative for the acceptance of the Jewish State in the midst of the Dar al-Islam, the lands claimed by the Muslims. Through securing the one ally that can truly move the needle in that direction: Saudi Arabia. Which will require the acceptance of Palestinian self-determination.
Because Netanyahu’s plan to achieve militaristic self-reliance is to tempt the fate of Bar Kochva and his followers, the death of the martyrs we commemorate today on Lag Ba’Omer. Then, as now, we were a small people, reliant on others for materials and trade. To imagine that this time the outcome of going it alone will be different, that this time we are somehow more worthy of divine intervention, that this time our zealously passionate intentions will merit continued presence on the land, is folly. It is blasphemous. If Rabbi Akiva and his students couldn’t pray their way to security and sovereignty, neither can we.
Ein Breira. The phrase, as the late great Leonard Fein quipped, had become a mainstay of Israeli culture to explain why there is no choice but to go to war. By using it, as David Green explains in my new book, Being Israeli After the Destruction of Gaza, “we’ve allowed ourselves to accept that there’s no solution and there’s nothing to be done.” But now, at the height of our power, its meaning has flipped. Because now that we’ve exhausted our military options it is time to recognize that there is no choice but to wage peace, no choice but to work towards a future in which we will live amongst our neighbors, accepted as valuable contributors to the future of our region.
For a preview of a future in which the Jews are recognized as natives in the region, ancient cousins who have come home, look to the United Arab Emirates and see what happens when Israel works hand-in-hand with its regional neighbors. Or to Somaliland, a Muslim country openly praising the Jewish State for taking the steps others would not to recognize their right to self-determination. Or northwards as brave Lebanese voices recognize that their fight is not with Israel, but with the revolutionary extremists who have occupied their land and turned it into a battleground. These are but tastes of the future we can achieve if only we recognize that we have no other choice but to drive toward regional recognition.
And the road to that future begins in Palestine. Nearly every former general, intelligence officer, and defense leader in Israel today has spoken up to say that preventing a pathway to a Palestinian State is no longer a choice we can afford. First, because it is wrong strategically: it sabotages our negotiations with Saudi Arabia, with the Muslim world, and it hurts our relations with global powers. It leaves us dependent on the United States, a country largely turning away from its half-century alliance with Israel.
Second, because it is wrong tactically: the Palestinian Authority (PA) has proven itself over the past three years to be a dependable partner in fighting terrorist attacks against Israelis, even as Israel hasn’t been much help at all in preventing the near-daily Jewish terrorist attacks on their population. The PA has accepted in practice that it is better to live side-by-side with Israel than to sacrifice its population for the unattainable dream of a Greater Palestine. Now all Israel needs to do is to accept Palestine in theory.
Six months ago, I thought Netanyahu would take the necessary steps to end our self-imposed siege and reposition Israel in the region. I was wrong. Six months from today, however, I pray we will have a prime minister that will have the courage to break with the past in order to secure our future. A government that will build alliances with our neighbors to take the steps towards acceptance in the region. A leadership that will do that which will have to be done because, alas, Ein Breira.
Ariel Beery’s new book, Being Israeli After the Destruction of Gaza, is an exploration of the values and visions of liberal, democratic Israelis in the shadow of the current war. He is the founding Editor and Publisher of Prophecy: A Journal for Tomorrow, and an active investor and advisor to initiatives dedicated to building a better future for Israel, the Jewish People, and humanity. His geopolitical writings can also be found on his Substack, A Lighthouse.