Outgoing top UN envoy Tor Wennesland has blamed weak diplomacy for the Israel-Hamas war, saying the world leaders have wrongly focused on short-term fixes, including small-scale humanitarian initiatives in Gaza, instead of pursuing a more ambitious push for a Palestinian state.
“The feeling that Hamas had no interest in the conflict — that was the mantra, and it was wrong,” The New York Times quoted Wennesland as saying in a parting interview as he retired after a four-year tenure before leaving Jerusalem last weekend.
“I’m somehow blaming myself for not getting that, not that I was the only one,” he added.
According to the The New York Times report_,_ in September last year, Wennesland, the UN’s top envoy for the Middle East peace process, left a meeting with Hamas leaders in Gaza believing he had helped prevent a major escalation.
The veteran Norwegian diplomat thought Hamas had agreed to ease tensions along the Israel-Gaza border in exchange for more work permits for Gazan workers.
However, Hamas had misled Wennesland, as well as the Israeli leadership and much of the international community. Days later, the group launched attacks on Israel, triggering the deadliest year in the history of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Wennesland now views this misconception as symbolic of the broader issues with the international community’s recent approach to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
He said in the half-decade before the war, the international community had focused on improving the economy in Gaza, hoping that higher levels of employment and a better quality of life in the blockaded territory might prevent more flare-ups between Hamas and Israel.
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