Israel-Hamas War day 286: What happened in Gaza?

The Knesset passed a proposal saying that it was opposed to the establishment of a Palestinian state west of the Jordan River late on Wednesday night. The vote passed with 68 in favor of the proposal and 9 against.

The move was put forward by the New Hope-United Right party MK Ze'ev Elkin and was supported by Yisrael Beytenu and The Land of Israel lobby, which has members from across the party spectrum, such as Likud, Shas, and National Unity Party.

The proposal would determine the Knesset's position on the establishment of a Palestinian state west of the Jordan River.

It says that the establishment of a Palestinian state in "the heart of the Land of Israel" would pose an "existential danger to the State of Israel and its citizens."

It also says that this would perpetuate the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and would further destabilize the region.

Hamas parade in Gaza (credit: REUTERS/Ahmed Jadallah AJ/TZ)

The proposal also says that a Palestinian state would quickly be taken over by Hamas, which would then use Palestine to launch attacks on Israel.

It calls the establishment of a Palestinian state in the aftermath of October 7 "a reward for terrorism" and that such a reward would only encourage Hamas and other Jihadist groups, who would use it as a prelude to taking over the Middle East.

"We expect members of the Knesset to actively support the proposed resolution, which is intended to express the overwhelming opposition that exists in the people to the establishment of a Palestinian state that would endanger the security of Israel and its future and which is intended to be a step towards its destruction. A broad stance and a clear decision by the Knesset will prove to the international community that pressures to impose a Palestinian state on Israel will be futile," New Hope MK Gideon Sa'ar said.

Cross-party consensus

Notably, National Unity chairman MK Benny Gantz supported the proposal alongside three other members of his party, which is considered centrist. The three were MKs Michael Biton, Pnina Tameno-Shete, and Chili Tropper.

Gantz said after the vote, "National Unity is committed in any future political scenario, as long as it exists, to preserve the Jewish and democratic identity of the State of Israel, and to stand up for its historical right and security interests."

The vote does not have legal significance, and is declaratory. However, it came at a sensitive time, just ahead of Netanyahu's trip to the US, and ahead of an upcoming opinion from the International  Court of Justice over the legality of Israel's control over the West Bank.

The measure was intended as a way to apply pressure on Netanyahu, since he is likely to face opposite pressure from US officials on a hostage deal that could include future discussions of Palestinian sovereignty.

Netanyahu himself was not present at the vote.

The vote was also notable since Netanyahu blocked a similar measure in February and chose instead to vote on a declaration that Israel opposed "unilateral" Palestinian statehood but did not oppose Palestinian statehood categorically.

Members of the New Hope-United Right Party, Likud, Shas, National Unity Party, United Torah Judaism, Otzma Yehudit, Yisrael Beytenu, and Religious Zionism Party have signed the proposal, although several have requested that their signatures be withdrawn.

October 7, 2023, in the area surrounding Gaza. I'm on WhatsApp with my brother, Ido.

06:58 Yonatan: "Did they surprise you?"

07:00 Ido: "Yes... it's a real event."

07:00 Yonatan: "The sons of ***... arrived at the kibbutz?"

7:50 Ido: "Brother, Bibush took a bullet. I'm done."

An hour and a half after the start of the invasion, my world collapsed for the first time.

Aviv Baram has been my neighbor and closest friend for the past 30 years. He fell defending his house. At this stage, I was still sure that this was the worst that could happen and that the IDF would be here soon, literally in a minute.

08:01 Ido: "I was a few meters in front of a terrorist... and I had to stop... listen, nothing prepares you for this shit."

08:02 Yonatan: "Crazy... who was hurt here? Were there any who were seriously hurt?"

08:02 Ido: "Amikam, Bibush, Hindi, Tal Eilon... only serious"

08:04 Yonatan: "Are you okay?"

08:05 Ido: "Yes... mentally crushed... Bibush is lying there, and there's nothing I can do."

I quickly left the shelter, took half a bottle of water and the girl's birthday cake, and quickly went back in.

It was then that I had already begun to understand that we had been abandoned to our deaths.

Yotam Haim, Samer Talalka and Alon Shamriz, who were kidnapped to the Gaza Strip and accidentally shot by the IDF, December 16, 2023 (credit: SCREENSHOT ACCORDING TO 27A OF COPYRIGHT ACT)

The super fighters of the kibbutz could not handle the 200 terrorists who greeted them with fire. My best friend and all the other members of the emergency squad - people who were like family to me - did not survive. It couldn't be worse?

09:52 Yonatan: "What about you?"

09:53 Ido: "Fortified, what about you?"

09:53 Yonatan: "Yes, but I'm not armed."

10:03 Ido: "What about Alon?"

10:03 Yonatan: "They entered his apartment now."

10:03 Ido: "Noooo"

Alon, our little brother, celebrated the day before with all the members of the younger generation at Yuval Salomon's birthday party.

A few years separated us, but the love there was so great that it is hard to describe in words.

Two minutes before I told Ido, Alon wrote to me that terrorists entered his apartment. A whole week passed before I told my parents about this conversation. After Alon stopped answering, I thought that this time it really couldn't get any worse.

You're in charge, you're responsible

Months of mourning and destruction have passed us by. The country stretched and contracted, but in the end, we stayed in the same place, with the same people who served the frontline villages on a silver platter to the Hamas terrorists, who refused to change the discourse even when they were warned of the consequences, and who continued to put their future before the future of the country.

These people - from the prime minister to the last of the ministers, from the heads of the security establishment to the soldiers who did not enter the kibbutzim because they did not receive an order - are all responsible for the terrible massacre we went through. The vast majority of them still hold the position they held that day.

The same people who worked for years on division and incitement among us sold us "Together we will win" and other empty slogans.

A government of populists whose main goal was and still remains to divide us into "them and us," "the left and the right."

There is always someone to blame. But those who defined Hamas as an asset, those who transferred millions of dollars in suitcases every month, those who together built the concept of "Hamas is deterred" - can no longer escape.

For us to restore and rebuild this country, we must finish cleaning house: the Chief of Staff, the heads of the Shin Bet and the Mossad, the current and former heads of the security establishment, the prime minister, the defense minister, and the last members of the coalition - everyone has only two steps to take: resign and face a commission of inquiry.

We, the living Israelis, must ensure that the people who will lead us after this disaster are more worthy, more humble, and above all, free from any connection to this disaster.

Only in this way can we begin to build trust, create a dialogue with the parties who are supposed to take care of us, and tell ourselves and our loved ones that we can start over.

On October 7, I kept thinking that I had reached rock bottom, and then there was a level lower. It doesn't matter at all which camp you think you belong to; this change has to happen. Otherwise, we will continue to live from disaster to disaster.

The author is Yonatan Shamriz. The brother of Alon Shamriz, who was kidnapped to Gaza and accidentally shot by IDF alongside the hostages Yotam Haim and Samer Talalka.

The Knesset plenum approved the first reading of a bill extending the soldiers' service, according to which the service period will be extended from 32 months to 36 months, early Thursday morning.

This is part of a temporary order until June 30, 2029. 56 supported the proposal, 44 opposed it, and it will be forwarded to the Knesset committee for discussion.