Can Israel achieve security without creating future peace conditions?

Question

Accepted Answer

Israel cannot claim security while destroying the conditions for future peace.

Israel’s campaign in Gaza is described as involving civilian casualties, the destruction of hospitals and universities, restrictions on aid, and a continuing settlement project in the West Bank, even as the October 7 attacks are acknowledged as a real security threat and Hamas’s role is said to be undisputed. The argument is that a state can respond to a genuine threat while still violating the laws it claims to defend, and that these actions undermine the prospects for future peace.
The core test set by the argument
The central question posed is whether Israel can claim security while destroying the conditions needed for future peace. The text frames this as a matter of consistency between security claims and legal conduct, not as a trade-off where harm is automatically justified by the existence of a threat.
What is cited as harming peace prospects
The conduct listed includes large-scale civilian casualties, destruction of hospitals and universities, and restrictions on aid in Gaza. It also points to a settlement project in the West Bank continuing under cover of the Gaza war, linking that ongoing policy to the “future peace conditions” the argument says are being damaged.
Threat response and legal limits can coexist
The text explicitly accepts that the October 7 attacks were real and that Hamas’s role in them is not in dispute. At the same time, it states that responding to a threat does not prevent a state from violating the laws it says it is fighting for, keeping both claims in view together.
International legal pressure is part of the backdrop
The argument also notes mounting international legal findings against the campaign, including the ICJ’s provisional measures and the ICC’s arrest warrants. This legal backdrop is presented as part of why the question of security versus future peace conditions cannot be answered purely through the existence of an external threat.

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Can Israel achieve security without creating future peace conditions?

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