Former CIA Director John Brennan commented on the Palestinian documentary "The Gift," which was nominated for the Oscar for Best Direct Short Film, as a strong and heart-wrenching narrative embodying the suffering of Palestinians in the person of a Palestinian man named Joseph and his young daughter Yasmine as they crossed an Israeli military checkpoint In the West Bank twice in one day.

Brennan said in an article in the New York Time that the movie "The Gift" is quickly establishing its context, opening with scenes of Palestinian men making their way through a narrow alleyway at one of the many checkpoints dotting the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

Palestinians who go to work, visit family, or shop on the other side of the security barrier have to endure this humiliating procedure daily.

In the film, Yusef sets out with Yasmine to buy a souvenir for his wife, and she is seen being held in a net cage at the checkpoint, and the apparent reason is that the Israeli guards want to thoroughly search him and his property, while Yasmine sits in the vicinity watching and waits silently.

Brennan comments on the scene that he brought back memories of his first visit to the West Bank in 1975, when he crossed the Jordan River and reached an Israeli checkpoint, and there he joined a relatively short column that was moving at a fast and steady pace.

On the other hand, a few meters away, he could see Palestinian men, women and children standing in a much longer line, completely sealed by a metal wire fence that says "Palestinians and Arabs".

He witnessed many of them being subjected to aggressive and rude searches by Israeli soldiers.

He commented on this position, saying, "Although I was distressed by what I saw, I knew that Israel had legitimate security concerns in the aftermath of the 1967 and 1973 wars, which were heightened by the attacks on Israeli and Jewish targets by Palestinian terrorist organizations."

I can only imagine the imprint of such experiences on girls and boys who live in the West Bank and Gaza Strip who have grown up traumatized by injustice, discrimination and violence and who live in the reality that their presence is controlled by people who do not care about their well-being, safety, or future.

He elaborated on explaining the security landscape of the Middle East over half a century that it had changed a lot according to his opinion, and that the Abraham Agreements, brokered by the United States last year, paved the way for 4 other Arab countries - the UAE, Bahrain, Sudan and Morocco - to establish diplomatic relations with Israel.

A scene from the movie The Gift (Al-Jazeera)

He hopes that more Arab leaders will follow their example because he sees that there is no reason and little geostrategic logic to continue to deny the truth and continuity of what he described as the State of Israel.

Brennan went on to describe the closing scene of the movie The Gift, in which Yusef appears tired and has a backache, and his anger grows as he is about to lose his nerve as he tries to return home with his gift.

He added that Yusef's fearful emotional impulsion led him to think about the frustration that every Palestinian feels, and he must live with the suffocating security measures and political oppression accompanying the Israeli military occupation, and how it was Joseph's little daughter Yasmine who caused him great anxiety and self-esteem, as she witnessed her father's patience His dignity and humanity are steadily eroding.

He commented, "I can only imagine the imprint of such experiences on girls and boys who live in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, who have grown up traumatized by injustice, discrimination and violence, and who live that their existence is controlled by people who do not care about their well-being, safety, or future."

The former CIA director (2013-2017) stated that the Biden administration is dealing with a dizzying array of domestic and international problems, and added that the Palestinian quest for statehood deserves the early participation of the national security team.

He believed that the United States should demand the Israeli leaders to stop the provocative settlement construction and the kind of oppressive security practices described in the movie "The Gift".

He concluded his article that showing a clear signal from President Biden that he is willing to facilitate serious Israeli-Palestinian discussions on the two-state solution would be of great political importance.