As Israel sinks into a complex political quagmire, we find ourselves as peace advocates thinking about the nature of the Israel we will live with, where there is a dangerous mixture of intense hatred of Palestinians, a worrying backsliding of any peace efforts between Palestinians and Israelis, and determined efforts to dismantle the Israeli justice system under the pretext of reforming it.
Taken together, these elements jeopardize Israel's relations, not only with large segments of its society, but also with its regional allies and with Washington.
This is what the Lebanese journalist Nadim Qutaish sees in an article published by the Times of Israel newspaper that dealt with the extremist policies of the Israeli government, the positions of some of its ministers, and what this may represent for the peace agreements between some Arab countries and Tel Aviv.
Qutaish, who presented himself in the article as a peace advocate, said Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich's brazen declaration in Paris that "there is no such thing as a Palestinian people" while standing in front of a map depicting Israel's borders and encompassing part of Jordan had a profound impact on Arab perception of what was going on.
Moreover, the Israeli parliament chose to repeal part of the 2005 law dismantling four Israeli settlements in the northern West Bank, as well as a law prohibiting the construction of new settlements in the West Bank.
The current crisis reveals the nature of the dispute between the countries of the Arab peace axis and Israel, as it exposes the stark and inherent contradiction in the character of the Israeli state between its reactionary positions and religious extremism and its achievements in the field of technology, science, military industries and medical discoveries.
"As an Arab advocate for peace, recent developments have led me to think that opponents of peace in Israel appear more militant and stubborn than their Arab counterparts," Qutaish said.
He added that religious Israel, represented by the government led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, overlooks the fact that the Arab countries of the axis of peace are diligently combating fanaticism and extremism in their societies, which calls for asking two important questions: How can these Arab countries reconcile and coexist with Israeli extremism? Since the countries of the axis of peace are serious about isolating extremists within their societies, how can they accept the presence of extremists in Israeli society, especially when they are in high positions of power?
Why are all the theoretical and practical steps taken by the Arabs to promote peace with Israel met with a rising wave of Israeli factions that show more militancy, fanaticism and extremism?