Vali Nasr | Pakistan

LAHORE: Iranian-American academic and political scientist Vali Nasr suggested on Friday that the war on Palestine had politically weakened Arab states and emboldened Israeli leaders, to the point that the latter had abandoned the two-state framework entirely. Speaking at a session titled ‘The Gaza War and the Remaking of the Middle East’, moderated by journalist Najam Sethi, Mr Nasr implied that the situation has proven detrimental to the Palestinian cause. He said Israel now believes it can pursue its objectives primarily through force. “With Arab states politically neutralised, Israeli leaders see little incentive to return to negotiations,” he added. According to him, Israeli leadership now views political compromise with the Palestinians as a security liability rather than a pathway to stability, effectively abandoning the two-state framework. Following the Gaza war, Israel moved against Hezbollah in Lebanon, significantly weakening the group’s operational capacity. The collapse of the Assad regime in Syr...