W.Minh Tuan

Today’s Israel-Palestine conflict originated more than 3,000 years ago.

It is both an ethnic conflict, a territorial conflict, and a religious conflict.

This conflict is considered the most complex, longest lasting, and most difficult to resolve in the world, because it has lasted for thousands of years, and today’s war between Israel and Palestine, and other Egypt and other Islam countries actually had smoldering seeds thousands of years ago.

And the capital Jerusalem is also a very important reason why this conflict is prolonged and difficult to resolve.

This is the capital of 4 religions, and of 2 States: Israel and Palestine.

Both of these countries claim Jerusalem as their own, but world public opinion has not officially recognized whose capital Jerusalem belongs to.

The Israelis’ refusal to recognize the Palestinian State is a major obstacle to resolving this conflict.

And moreover, the Israelis keep trying to gradually encroach on land that the Palestinians consider these lands are theirs, making the conflict even more difficult to resolve.

There was a moderate Israeli Prime Minister, Mr. Rabin, who wanted to recognize the State of Palestine, but radical Israelis assassinated and killed Prime Minister Rabin in 1995, so this recognition has still stopped.

In fact, the Israelis’ refusal to recognize the State of Palestine also has a reason from the Palestinian side, because there are many people on the Palestinian side who want to use violence and terror against the Israelis to resolve the conflict, and Hamas is one example.

Therefore, the cause of the current conflict is responsible for both the Israeli and Palestinian sides.

And the brutal terrorism of Hamas forces on October 7, 2023 in the Gaza Strip was just a drop in the bucket of a conflict that has been smoldering for thousands of years between two races, two religions, two States of Israel – Palestine.

Israelis must look and blames at themselves, and Palestinians must also look and blames at themselves.

But perhaps it would be better for the Israelis to make concessions first, to pave the way for the Palestinian side to also make concessions later.

One side must make concessions first, then the other side can also look at it and follow suit, to make concessions later is a wise point of view.

Vietnam’s experience from the Le Dynasty more than 600 years ago is a good experience for Israelis and Palestinians today to look to and learn from.

In 1407, China’s Ming army invaded Vietnam, defeated the Ho Dynasty of Vietnam, colonized and ruled Vietnam for 20 years, and did many brutal things against the Vietnamese people.

In 1417, King Le Loi of Vietnam led an uprising against the Ming army for 10 years. By 1427, King Le Loi of Viet Nam was successful, defeating more than 200,000 Ming soldiers and capturing more than 50,000 Ming soldiers as prisoners.

At that time, many Vietnamese people wanted to revenge the Ming soldiers, so they reported to King Le Loi, asking for revenge and beheading all the Ming surrendered soldiers.

But King Le Loi wisely said:

“-Revenge is a natural thing for normal people. But doing benevolent deeds, not taking revenge, to end the conflict between Dai Viet and the Ming Dynasty, that is the right thing to do, and will be recorded in history for thousands of generations to come”.

After that, King Le Loi ordered to provide rice, buffalo, and wine to the Ming army as food, and 500 warships, and 20,000 horses, all of which were spoils of war captured from the Ming surrendered army, now returned to the Ming surrendered army, so that the Ming surrendered army to use as a means of returning home.

The Minh surrendered generals cried emotionally when King Le Loi of Vietnam lets them to return home.

Since then, the hatred between the two peoples Dai Viet and China has been resolved for a long time, ensuring peace between the two countries for several hundred years.

Today, Vietnam and China still maintain friendly solidarity, trying to resolve conflicts in the East Sea by peaceful means.

What is the lesson of King Le Loi?

There must be one side who takes the initiative to make peace first, and one side who is willing to yield and give in first, in order to be able to resolve the conflict between the two sides.

If both sides continue to be aggressive, insist that I am on being the winner, that they are the won ones deciding the consequences after the war, the other side must suffer defeat, the other side must accept the victor’s conditions, it can be said that the conflict can never be resolved.

The Israelis can defeat today’s Hamas in the Gaza Strip, but another Hamas will appear again, and 3,000 years later it will still not be able to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Israelis should be humble, recognize the existence of the State of Palestine, proactively propose humanitarian aid to Palestine, build schools, hospitals, kindergartens, and power plants, roads, bridges for Palestinians,,,.

This kind acts of Israel will help improve the image of hatred between Palestinians and Israelis.

Only this way of being humble and giving in to each other can finally resolve the 3,000-year conflict between Israel and Palestine.

Americans should help both sides, Israel and Palestine, in that direction, rather than adding fuel to the fire like now.

Israel’s guns, missiles, and tanks can destroy this Hamas force, but another Hamas will appear, and it will not be possible to win the hearts and minds of a large number of Palestinians, and cannot win the hearts and minds of a large number of peace-loving people around the world.

Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu strangely said that “The current Palestinian government does not have the ability to effectively manage the land of Gaza.”

The management of Gaza is an internal Palestinian affair, not an Israeli affair.

Whether the Palestinians manage well or not well, effectively or ineffectively, that is the internal affairs of the Palestinians, and has nothing to do with Mr. Netanyahu.

But Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu spoke as if he were the father of the Palestinian people, and US President Biden echoed Netanyahu, saying “Hamas must be defeated to prevent them from causing other terrorist attacks”.

Both Mr. Biden and Mr. Netanyahu must understand that defeating Hamas is not difficult, but winning the hearts and minds of more than 5 million Palestinians, and gaining the support of billions of Muslims around the world, so that no new Hamas appears, is what is most important, is what ensures no more terrorism against Israelis, and ensures permanent peace in this land of Gaza.///