Image taken from the evening news of Friday October 24, 2025 from channel 12
On November 4, 1995, at the end of a rally that brought together nearly a hundred thousand Israelis in Tel Aviv’s Kings of Israel Square in support of the Oslo Accords, Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin was assassinated by Yigal Amir, a religious Jew opposed to the peace process with Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat.
That was thirty years ago. The words Rabin spoke that night, in his gravelly voice, still echo through the square that now bears his name: “I was a military man for 27 years. I fought as long as there was no chance for peace. I believe that there is now a chance for peace, a great chance. … the path of peace is preferable to the path of war. I say this to you as one who was a military man, someone who is today Minister of Defense and sees the pain of the families of the IDF soldiers.”
Thirty years already! How many tens of thousands of families, both Israeli and Palestinian, have since buried their loved ones—civilians and soldiers alike—killed in a war marked only by ceasefires between new explosions or new attacks. A war that neither people has been able, on its own, to end.
Thirty years later, those in Israel who had incited the assassin through their words and demonstrations are now in power in Jerusalem. They lead a government guided by a messianic vision for the country, still intent on annexing the West Bank and maintaining control over the Palestinian population.
Meanwhile, those in Palestine who, by carrying out attacks in Israel as soon as the Oslo Accords were signed, succeeded in sabotaging a fragile peace process, bear responsibility for the greatest disaster the Palestinian people have faced since the Nakba. Despite all they have been through in two years of war, they still refuse to renounce armed struggle to achieve their goal.
It took the full pressure of President Trump and his administration to force both sides to accept a ceasefire agreement after two years of a devastating war for both populations. The outlines of this agreement had already been drafted and prepared under the Biden administration, but were rejected by the Israel and—according to some sources—accepted as early as September 2024 by Hamas.
The first phase of this deal is now being implemented. The release of the surviving hostages has moved us all, and we have shared the nation’s joy at their return—an outcome of two years of public demonstrations. Indeed, among all the factors that pushed Donald Trump to impose his peace plan, analyzed in our previous newsletter, the relentless mobilization of the majority of Israeli society alongside the hostages’ families, maintaining pressure on the Netanyahu government that had abandoned them to their fate, was decisive.
The testimonies now emerging from the freed hostages testify first and foremost to their courage and resilience. But they also reveal the irresponsibility of ministers Ben Gvir and Smotrich, whose vengeful declarations and measures against Palestinians prisoners worsened the suffering of hostages who were tortured in retaliation for those statements.
Thirteen hostages’ bodies remain to be repatriated. Until they are returned to their families, Israeli society will be unable to begin its process of recovery. The Americans have understood the importance of completing this step. But they have also realized that they cannot allow the Israeli government to handle alone the next, longer and more difficult phases of their peace plan. The Israeli attack in Qatar proved to them that Netanyahu could not be trusted.
The U.S. has now established, in the city of Kiryat Gat in southern Israel, a command center under the responsibility of CENTCOM (United States Central Command). Nearly 200 American officers and soldiers are already stationed there to oversee the ceasefire in Gaza. Other troops have joined this international force, representing several countries, including some that have recently recognized the State of Palestine—the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, France, the United Kingdom, Germany, Spain, Canada, Australia, Denmark and Greece. Qatar and Turkey have also expressed their wish to participate, but Israel opposes their presence. This internationalization of the conflict runs counter to the long-standing declarations of the Israeli right and clearly demonstrates Israel’s total dependence on the United States.
Since Trump’s speech before the Knesset, senior members of his administration have been making back-to-back visits to Jerusalem. His personal envoys, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, have taken part in Israeli Security Cabinet meetings and met with IDF generals overseeing operations in Gaza.
U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance, followed by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, also traveled to Israel to engage in what humorists have called “Bibi-sitting,” to ensure that Netanyahu does not resume the offensive in Gaza—even after two soldiers were killed by Hamas since the ceasefire.
A symbolic Knesset vote during Vance’s visit — advancing two bills to extend Israeli sovereignty over the West Bank — infuriated Washington. Vance denounced the move, saying he felt “personally somewhat insulted.” He added: “The Trump administration’s policy is that the West Bank will not be annexed by Israel.”
Asked by a reporter whether he saw the Knesset vote as a challenge to his peace efforts, President Trump replied: “Israel’s not going to do anything with the West Bank. Don’t worry about the West Bank… It’s not going to happen. It’s not going to happen because I gave my word to the Arab countries.” Earlier, he had warned that in the event of annexation, “Israel would lose U.S. support.”
Who could have imagined, just months ago, that Donald Trump would become the unexpected spokesperson for Israel’s anti-annexation left? Yet he will have to move beyond formal declarations, as on the ground, annexation is advancing quietly and steadily in practice, without any need for a Knesset vote.
Only the United States is now capable of restraining this Israeli government — to the point that many Israeli commentators are beginning to wonder whether their country is on the verge of becoming the 51st American state.
A strange paradox indeed: that it is the nationalist right itself, through its political decisions, that has caused Israel to lose part of its autonomy!
David Chemla
