Like many people, I have felt the pain and sadness of the war in Gaza every day since Oct. 7. 

I have a colleague who is Palestinian and I know he sees his children’s faces in every injured Palestinian child. I have another friend whose son is in the Israel Defense Forces. I know he has suffered not only the collective grief of Oct. 7, the ongoing grief of the hostage families, the pain of losing fellow soldiers in battle, and the agony of any soldier with a heart who is placed in the position of inflicting harm to others.

I have a certain amount of envy for those who see the suffering of Palestinians, are able to ignore the complexities of the situation, and demand an immediate cease-fire. I recently heard an interview with Sen. Bernie Sanders where he started by acknowledging that Hamas was a terrorist organization who should never be allowed to be in a position to launch another attack like Oct. 7, followed by his demand for an immediate cease-fire and self-determination by Palestinians.

This is a call frequently heard from those critical of Israel. My problem is that they never outline a realistic scenario of what happens next.

We now know the only cease-fire Hamas will except is for Israel to pull out of Gaza completely. Hamas will then release some of the hostages but inevitably keep some as bargaining chips for later negotiations. The corridor between Egypt and Gaza will reopen, allowing Hamas to rearm themselves.

Yahya Sinwar, the leader of Hamas, will emerge from the tunnels victorious. Hamas has already made it clear that their goal is to repeat Oct. 7. They have aligned themselves with Iran, Hezbollah and the Houthis, all jihadist movements whose goal is not to live in peace with a Jewish state, but to wipe Israel off the map. Has any representative of any of these organizations stood up and said — all we have ever wanted was to live in peace with a Jewish state?

Every poll I have seen shows Hamas to be popular in the West Bank, so self -determination by the Palestinians will mean Hamas in power in the West Bank as well as in Gaza. If Israel were to pull out of the West Bank, as they pulled out of Gaza, there is every reason to believe that Hamas would build the same network of tunnels there that they built in Gaza. The 100,000 missiles supplied to Hezbollah by Iran will inevitably be given to the new Palestinian state. The idea that Hamas would accept a disarmed Palestinian state is absurd.

If the Palestinians wanted to live in peace with a Jewish state, than 2005 was their golden opportunity when Israel completely evacuated Gaza. Instead of a nation based on human rights and peaceful coexistence, they formed one based on Sharia law and dedicated to the killing of Jews and the destruction of Israel. They spent all of their resources building tunnels to kidnap Jews from Israel and have been preparing for this war for the past two decades.

I would love to believe that Palestinians are ready to move on from the past and live in peace with a Jewish state. However, as long as Hamas remains popular, their chant remains from the “River to the Sea,” and their alliances remain with Iran, Hezbollah and the Houthis, I can’t see how Israel can be expected to let their guard down and take the risks needed to create Palestinian autonomy.

What saddens me most of all is I don’t see a solution to this situation and it is seems very difficult to be optimistic about the future.

Barry Hirsch lives in Northampton.