Andrew Fox: 'Palestinianism' remains a threat to Middle East peace

There's rapid change happening in Middle East In a ceremonial show of unity, world leaders headed to Egypt for an Oct. 13 peace summit in support of United States President Donald Trump’s plan to end the war in Gaza. All living hostages have been returned to Israel, though Jerusalem is still working to secure the release of some deceased hostages. It's been a historic week, but questions remain about the future of Hamas, and what it will take to deliver long-term security in the region. To discuss what happens next, Andrew Fox joins Inside Policy Talks. Fox served 16 years in the British Army, completed three tours in Afghanistan, and further tours of Bosnia, Northern Ireland, and the Middle East. A prominent expert on the Israel-Hamas war, Fox was a senior lecturer at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst. He is currently an associate fellow at the Henry Jackson Society and an associate fellow at the Jerusalem Institute for Strategy and Security. On the podcast, he tells Casey Babb, who leads the Macdonald-Laurier Institute's Promised Land project, that it's difficult to gauge what level of support Hamas retains in Gaza. However, he says the deeply rooted ideaology of "Palestinianism" will remain a problem in any scenario. "This idea of the from the river to the sea – it's not about having your independent Gaza Strip or your independent West Bank and a Palestinian polity," says Fox. "It's about getting rid of Israel and replacing it with this brand new country called Palestine that's never existed before." "I would suggest that's got a near 100 per cent approval rating across the Palestinian territories."