“Displacement and the quest for a homeland are, of course, intrinsic to the intertwined fates of Israelis and Palestinians.
The Holocaust and the 1948 Nakba, or catastrophe, in which some 750,000 Palestinians were driven out of their land by killing during Israel’s War of Independence, vie for greater weight on the sterile scales of competitive victimhood.
By rekindling nightmarish memories of these disasters, the Oct. 7 attack and retaliatory war in Gaza have pushed the two sides deeper into enmity.
“The Oct. 7 slaughter and seizure of hostages reinforced Holocaust associations for Israel, and for many Palestinians in Gaza, the war has been a new Nakba,” said Yuval Shany, a professor of international law at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. “So narratives feed themselves in an endless loop.”
At the two-year mark of the greatest defeat in the country’s 77-year history, Israelis find themselves mentally and physically exhausted, and not only the 295,000 reservists who have been called up again and again. Some 83,000 Israelis emigrated in 2024, 50 percent more than the previous year. Seven members of the Israeli military died by suicide in July and August alone.” [1]
Palestinian tunnels, a sign of human inventiveness, end the endless loop. The killing doesn't work anymore.
Palestinian tunnels as a symbol of resistance
The idea introduces tunnels as a factor that "end the endless loop" by challenging the traditional power dynamic.
A "city underneath the cities": Hamas has developed an extensive network of tunnels, sometimes called the "Gaza metro," that stretches for hundreds of miles under the Gaza Strip. The network serves as a strategic military asset, providing cover for militants and allowing them to launch attacks, move supplies, and house command centers.
Circumventing blockade: The tunnels' roots trace back to smuggling routes used to circumvent the blockade imposed on Gaza by Egypt and Israel. In this context, the tunnels are a sign of Palestinian inventiveness and a response to the harsh restrictions imposed by the siege.
Military reality: For Hamas, the tunnels provide a strategic advantage that neutralizes Israel's technological superiority and extensive aerial surveillance. This subterranean warfare subverts the conventional loop of air strikes and incursions, making a traditional military resolution difficult.
The clash of visions
The idea contrasts two incompatible approaches to Gaza's future:
The "Gaza Riviera," representing a vision of erasure and reconstruction by outside powers that ignores Palestinian existence.
The tunnel network, symbolizing Palestinian resistance and the rejection of a future imposed by external forces.
The juxtaposition suggests that as long as the tunnels exist and the cycle of trauma persists, the "Jewish Riviera" remains an unrealizable fantasy. The "killing doesn't work anymore" implies that the killing alone is insufficient to resolve a conflict where the weaker party can operate in a hidden, inaccessible dimension.
1. Israel at War With Itself. Cohen, Roger; Guttenfelder, David; Alghorra, Saher. New York Times (Online) New York Times Company. Oct 5, 2025.
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