The headlines are a familiar dirge: civilian casualties, political stalemate, a peace process dead on arrival. We read them, we wring our hands, and then we scroll on. There’s a name for this, and it’s not a military term. It’s “message fatigue.” It’s the psychological wall the world has built against the ceaseless, agonizing news from the Middle East. It’s the creeping apathy that sets in when every solution offered is a rehashed, decades-old recipe that has failed every single time.

This message fatigue is the new battlefield. The narrative has calcified. The two-state solution — once a beacon of hope — has become a mantra of futility, an empty phrase repeated by diplomats and talking heads with no real plan for its implementation. The current war, tragic and necessary as it is, has exposed the rot at the heart of this approach. It’s not a solution; it’s a fantasy.

And who benefits from this stagnation? The very actors who profit from chaos, and those who use the Palestinians as pawns in a cynical game of regional power.

The Palestinian Authority (PA) in Judea and Samaria is not a partner for peace. It’s a kleptocracy, a corrupt and dysfunctional entity that has failed its people for a generation. It has no democratic mandate, no popular legitimacy, and no control over the militant factions that operate with impunity. To pretend that a sovereign state could be built on this foundation is an act of willful delusion.

The PA’s primary function has become the preservation of its own power, not the well-being of the Palestinian people. Their failure to govern, to build civil society, and to combat corruption makes them a liability, not a viable partner.

Then there is Qatar. The tiny Gulf state has positioned itself as an indispensable mediator, but its role is far more insidious. Qatar hosts the leaders of Hamas and provides them with political, financial, and logistical support. It’s a grand hypocrisy: a nation that claims to seek peace while simultaneously funding the very terrorism that makes peace impossible.

To give Qatar a seat at the negotiating table is like asking an arsonist to help put out the fire. Their “mediation” is a strategic play, designed to increase their regional influence and burnish their image on the world stage, all while perpetuating the conflict from which they benefit.

But the blame extends far beyond these immediate actors. For decades, the wealthy Arab states, particularly Saudi Arabia, have paid lip service to the Palestinian cause, while doing little to advance a genuine solution.

They have provided financial aid — often funneled through the corrupt PA — and used the Palestinian issue as a tool to distract from their own internal issues and to curry favor with their populations. Saudi Arabia, for instance, has long maintained its official stance of non-recognition of Israel, demanding a two-state solution on the 1967 borders. Yet, this public position is a convenient shield. It allows them to appear as champions of the Arab world while quietly pursuing their own security and economic interests, which often align with Israel’s in confronting their shared adversary, Iran. 

The most dangerous new front, however, is not just in the Middle East. It is in Europe, where the tentacles of Hamas and other radical Islamist movements are spreading under the cover of seemingly benign foundations.

Hamas is not just a Gaza-based organization; it is a global movement with a sophisticated network of fundraising and propaganda. These groups are masquerading as legitimate charities and human rights organizations, infiltrating European civil society to spread their ideology and finance their operations. The Humanitarian Relief Foundation (IHH) is a prime example. While it presents itself as a humanitarian group, its connection to the infamous flotillas aimed at breaking the Gaza blockade has long been scrutinized, with reports linking it directly to Hamas’ terror infrastructure.

These flotillas, far from being purely humanitarian, were media spectacles designed to provoke and demonize Israel, with some participants prepared for violence. This is the new form of warfare: a psychological campaign to erode public support for Israel by leveraging the sympathies of Western populations through a network of front organizations.

This is why the old scripts must be thrown out. The two-state solution is not a goal; it’s a trap. It offers a framework for negotiations that are destined to fail because the preconditions for success — a legitimate, capable Palestinian partner and an end to foreign sponsorship of terror — simply do not exist.

We must stop pretending that the current crop of Palestinian leaders, both in the PA and abroad, can deliver a stable future, or that the major Arab powers are truly acting in the best interests of the Palestinian people. And we must recognize the global threat posed by groups like Hamas, which use Europe’s open societies to finance and spread their extremism.

What we need is a new paradigm. Not a two-state solution, but a solution.

Amine Ayoub, a fellow at the Middle East Forum, is a policy analyst and writer based in Morocco. Follow him on X: @amineayoubx