Peace in Gaza: A Response to Cassam

Journal article

This article responds to Quassim Cassam’s arguments for the claim that the only viable strategy for Israel in its conflict with Hamas is to continue the war begun in October 2023 until Hamas is “crushed.” It critically examines his reasons for claiming that Hamas fails to satisfy the five conditions he states for potentially successful peace negotiations. While it may be true that Hamas fails to satisfy the conditions, it is also true that Israel fails even more egregiously to satisfy them. And even if the satisfaction of the conditions by both sides were necessary for successful negotiations, which is not the case, peace negotiations are not the best alternative to continued war. The best strategy for achieving a lasting peace is for both parties to address what Cassam calls the “root causes” of the conflict. Israel could successfully do this entirely unilaterally. And the Palestinians could also act unilaterally in a way that would be the best they could do to eliminate the fundamental source of the conflict.

Authors: McMahan, J

• Publication status: Published
• Peer review status: Peer reviewed
• Publisher: De Gruyter Brill
• Journal: Analyse & Kritik
• Volume: 48
• Issue: 1
• Pages: 179-194
• Publication date: 2026-05-28
• DOI: 10.1515/auk-2026-3010
• EISSN: 2365-9858
• ISSN: 0171-5860
• Language: English
• Keywords: Hamas; Palestinian state; genocide; Gaza war 2023; Israeli occupation; October 7