A majority of both Israelis and Palestinians want the ongoing war to end, Hadash-Ta’al MK Ayman Odeh said on Wednesday at the Israel Bar Association annual conference in Eilat.
“When I saw the number 600 [days of war], I actually recalled the Six Day War,” Odeh said. “Because back then, both in ‘48 and ‘67, one people went out happy and felt victorious, and another people felt defeated.
“But today, if you ask most Israeli citizens and most Palestinians, they will say they wish the days since October 7 had never happened. The majority on both sides does not want this situation,” he said.
Odeh emphasized what he said was the futility of the bloody and prolonged war and the failure of the political leadership. ”What is the political achievement? Please tell me. There is none. Therefore, after this war, we must tell the right wing, ‘Your path has failed. You have no vision, no direction.’ This is the right thing to say, and it must be said in the clearest way possible.”
In his remarks, the MK highlighted what he described as the human perspective he has maintained throughout: “I do not want a single child, neither Jewish nor Palestinian, to be killed; that is the main thing. There are those who want me to see only one side; that will not happen. I will see both sides, the pain of the Israelis and the pain of the Palestinians.”
Yair Golan also participated in the conference. The Democrats chairman created an uproar last week when he said, “A sane country does not kill children as a hobby,” and was unable to deliver remarks at a conference in Beersheba on Tuesday due to heckling and protests.
“I have never spoken against IDF soldiers and never will. On the contrary, IDF soldiers, through their heroism, have already achieved an extraordinary accomplishment in May-June of last year. We completed the elimination of Hamas’s military power, and a diplomatic move should have been built upon that to free the hostages and establish a broad regional agreement,” he said.
'Instead of fighting against lies, [Netanyahu] amplifies them'
Regarding Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Golan said, “Instead of fighting against lies and incitement, he amplifies them. This is organized incitement. The Israeli public must mobilize and push for early elections. Elections are the order of the day to save the country.”
He added, “A government that harms national security, crushes the economy, and tears society apart from within cannot continue to rule. It incites, divides, and turns good citizens into enemies. Netanyahu built his power on division; it is time to turn the page.
“We need a government that reconnects all parts of the nation, rehabilitates the Gaza border region and the North, addresses the economy and education, and sets new national goals instead of living in fear.”