The conflict between Arabs and Jews in the Middle East long preceded the current war in Gaza and even the creation of the Jewish State of Israel in May 1948. This conflict was sealed into geopolitical reality as early as 1917, when the British government proclaimed that “His Majesty’s Government views with favor the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people.”

Throughout history, two nations in one land has led to endless conflicts. Israel is not alone in this respect. Examples abound. Just look at the conflicts between Muslims and Hindus in Southeast Asia, the wars in the Balkans, the Hutu massacre of the Tutsi in Rwanda and tribal warfare in African countries today.

At the time of the Balfour Declaration, there were about 60,000 Jews in the Holy Land and some 700,000 Arabs. Thirty years later, there were 600,000 Jews, many of them Holocaust survivors, and almost 2 million Arabs. But the Jews won their War of Independence against the Arab population and in May 1948 proclaimed the Jewish State of Israel.

In the intervening 76 years, Israel was victorious in three wars with neighboring Arab states intent on its destruction. Since the last of those wars, the Yom Kippur War in October 1973, Israel has prospered beyond the hopes of it most fervent supporters.

The Jewish population of Israel today exceeds 7 million versus about 4 million Arabs in Israel and in the territories, and Israel’s per person gross national product is on par with countries in the West. This growth has not solved the problem of two peoples in one land. It is easy to point fingers at both sides for their failure to reach an accommodation. But looking backward will not solve the problem, it will only increase the enmity.

Following Hamas’ massacre of more than 1,200 Israeli civilians on October 7, 2023, Israel’s Jews turned increasingly negative on the notion of an independent Palestinian state, fearing it would sooner or later be taken over by the jihadists and threaten Israel’s existence. In light of the recent action by Hamas and like-minded jihadists in Yemen, Lebanon, Syria and Iraq, this is not Jewish paranoia. But under the worst-case scenario, the Palestinian Arabs are not an existential threat to Israel’s existence. They simply lack the power, now and in the likely future. The existential threat to Israel is Iran. Not only is Iran a threshold nuclear state, but it is also arming Israel’s enemies in neighboring countries.

To counter the threat from Iran, Israel needs to take advantage of the split in the Arab world between Sunni and Shia sects. Egypt, Jordan and the United Arab Emirates, three important Sunni states, have established diplomatic relations with Israel. Saudi Arabia is the only major Sunni Arab state still withholding recognition.

The United States is relying on Saudia Arabi’s fear of Iran in its efforts to persuade the Saudis to recognize Israel and join the Sunni bloc against Iran. The Saudis are reportedly holding out for Israel to agree on a pathway to the establishment of an independent Palestinian state on the West Bank.

A collateral benefit to Israel in taking that pathway would be that it would gain favor in Western countries whose support for Israel is critical for its long-term security. That, along with Israel’s maintaining a strong military with a qualitative edge over its neighboring countries, will best protect Israel’s security.

Moving toward an independent Palestinian state is anathema to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s right-wing coalition partners, without whose support his government would fall. It is not an exaggeration to say that Netanyahu stands in the way of genuine progress in resolving an issue that has bedeviled Jews and Arabs alike for over a century.

Netanyahu seems more concerned with his political survival than with the future welfare of the Jewish state. His facilitating the transfer of large sums of money from Qatar to Hamas, which led to its military buildup, has turned most Israelis against Netanyahu. He fears that once out of office, he will face the prospect of a criminal conviction on charges of fraud, bribery and extortion.

Israel deserves a better fate.

Alfred H. Moses is a former president of the American Jewish Committee and chairs the honorary board at ANU — Museum of the Jewish People. He is the former chair of UN Watch, a former U.S. ambassador and served as senior adviser and special counsel to President Jimmy Carter. He was born and raised in Baltimore and lives in Washington, D.C., and Tel Aviv, Israel.