Jaap de Hoop Scheffer: ‘There must be a Palestinian state’

There must be a Palestinian state that can coexist with Israel. Former NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer advocates this in BNR’s Big Five. To achieve this, NATO must also be involved in resolving the conflict. ‘I don’t see it happening in Israel and elsewhere to think about how to proceed with Gaza. One day everything will be bombed to the ground.’

According to De Hoop Scheffer, there is a power struggle in the background of the war between Hamas and Israel. ‘It’s about who will be in charge in the long run? Is that Iran, with the mullahs in Tehran and their so-called ‘axis of resistance’ with groups in Syria, Iraq and Lebanon?’

On the other side are moderate Arab countries, under the ‘patronage’ of the United States, says the former Secretary General. ‘Including the monarchies in the Arabian Gulf, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Jordan. These are all countries that have no interest in the current instability in the region. That is the big battle that is going on in the background,” he says.

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To ensure that those moderate parties emerge from this conflict as winners, the former NATO leader believes that a two-state solution must be pursued. ‘There must be a Palestinian state that can coexist with Israel.’ There is a role for the West and allies in the Middle East, he thinks. Israel is an exception. ‘I don’t see it happening in Israel and elsewhere to think about how to proceed with Gaza. One day everything will be bombed to the ground.’

Role for NATO

De Hoop Scheffer, who is currently Minister of State, also believes that NATO should play a role in the future of the Palestinian state. ‘There is also reasonable cause for this. The moderate countries in the region have no ambitions to become NATO members, but they do see the dark cloud of Iran.’ According to him, those countries are also prepared to enter into dialogue. ‘I still consider them very important partners for NATO.’

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He also calls on Rutte, who may become the next leader of the Western alliance. ‘I hope that the next Secretary General will again invest heavily in that region. It is not a region where NATO will act or send troops, I am not talking about that. I’m talking about the political image and picture.’

You can listen to the entire conversation with Jaap de Hoop Scheffer BNR’s Big Five