Mekelberg says security cannot replace an Israeli-Palestinian political path
The Chatham House fellow says military operations and territorial control offer no sustainable political objective, and warns that conflict without diplomacy risks becoming perpetual.
Yossi Mekelberg has called on Israelis and Palestinians to “reboot relations”, arguing that security measures alone cannot provide a lasting political objective. He made the case in an interview with France 24’s Mark Owen.
Mekelberg, a senior consulting fellow with Chatham House’s Middle East and North Africa Programme, challenged the idea that military operations, incursions and settlement expansion can define Israel’s future.
He argued that without a diplomatic route and a political endgame, continued war risks producing perpetual conflict. The interview did not set out a specific diplomatic process.
Mekelberg said a possible transition beyond the Netanyahu era could create an opportunity to reconsider relations between Israeli and Palestinian societies. He did not specify when such a transition might occur.
