Ep 20: Two Years After: When Recognition Means Nothing

Two years after October 7th, the world claims to have learned its lesson — recognizing Palestine, calling for peace, promising justice.

But behind the headlines, Gaza lies in ruins, famine spreads, and a “peace plan” crafted by Trump and Netanyahu threatens to cement permanent occupation under billionaire control.

In this episode I investigate what has — and hasn’t — changed since that day, and ask:

What does recognition mean when nothing changes for the people living under siege?

Check out my substack page where I tackle some of the episode topics in depth and write about other issues our country and the world are facing today. https://substack.com/@ktdpodcast

Transcript

Raheel Khan: 0:02

Two years ago, October 7th, 2023, Hamas militants killed more than 1200 Israelis and took 251 hostages. It was horrific, nightmarish, and a war crime. The deadliest single day for Jewish people since the Holocaust. Three weeks later, UN Secretary General Antonio Gutierrez, said something before the UN Security Council that enraged Israeli officials, but revealed an uncomfortable truth:

0:34

I have condemned unequivocally the horrifying and unprecedented 7 October acts of terror by Hamas in Israel. Nothing can justify the deliberate killing, injuring and kidnapping of civilians or the launching of rockets against civilian targets. All hostages must be treated humanely and released immediately and without conditions. She is important to also recognize The attacks by Hamas did not happen in a vacuum The Palestinian people have been subjected to 56 years of suffocating occupation They have seen their land steadily devoured by settlements and plagued by violence Their economy stifled, their people displaced, and their homes demolished Their hopes for a political solution to their plight have been vanishing.

Raheel Khan: 1:28

Despite the controversy. Gutierrez was right. Understanding context isn't justifying atrocity. It's the only way to prevent the next one. Two years later, the world is performing grand gestures. Countries are formally recognizing Palestine. The UN declared famine and genocide, for the first time, Trump unveiled a"historic" peace plan, massive flotilla of activists risked arrest to break a long standing naval blockade. On the surface progress. But here's the question that cuts through the headlines. What is actually changing for Palestinians on the ground? Because while the world applauds itself, tens of thousands of Palestinians are dead. Netanyahu continues his Gaza campaign without consequence. And the largest aid flotilla in history, escorted by European warships, was still intercepted. Recognition without enforcement is theater. Condemnation without consequences is performance art. And if this peace deal goes through in its current form, we may see the world declare victory, then turn away while Palestinians remain trapped in the very conditions that made October 7th possible. So, let's start Khannecting The Dots. First, we have to start with what's been happening in Gaza over the past few weeks. Back in August, Netanyahu overruled his own military leadership, the heads of the IDF, Mossad, and Shin Bet. They warned him invading Gaza City, would endanger hostages, kill civilians, and fail to dismantle Hamas. He did it anyway. Bowing to pressure from his far right coalition. By late September, entire neighborhoods of Gaza City had been flattened. The UN's human rights office warned"The systematic destruction of Gaza City is already underway". Israeli tanks kept pushing south, ordering nearly a million Palestinians to flee, but there's no safe place left to go. On September 18th alone, 98 Palestinians were killed. Many of them in Gaza City families dug through concrete with their bare hands to search for loved ones. Since the war began, more than 67,000 Palestinians have been killed. At least 170,000 injured since Israel broke the ceasefire In March, over 13,000 have been killed. Sometimes it's hard to grasp those kind of numbers. Think of it this way, in just the last six months, every day has brought the equivalent of an airplane carrying 70 to 80 people crashing down, with no survivors. Nearly 1000 people have been killed while simply seeking food. Most at the Gaza humanitarian sites set up by the US and Israel, countless more have been injured in those attacks. In August, a UN back monitor, declared famine in Gaza City. Over half a million people now living under starvation conditions. Over 450 people have died from starvation alone. 145 of them children. This isn't collateral damage, it's calculated destruction. On September 15th, Netanyahu gave a speech that revealed his long-term vision. He said, Israel must become a"super Sparta". Not Athens, the cradle of Western democracy and culture, but Sparta, the militarized city state, defined by permanent war and isolation. He called for"economic self-reliance" code for turning inward, embracing siege as a way of life. The Tel Aviv stock exchange tanked, Netanyahu backtracked the next day, claiming he was misunderstood. But the mask had slipped. The very next day, September 16th, came a historic judgment, a UN Commission of inquiry, or COI, declared that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza, the COI based this conclusion on its own investigations and relied on the international criminal tribunals to examine the evidence gathered. They found Israeli forces had committed four of the five acts that constitute genocide as defined in the genocide convention. Killing members of the group. Causing serious bodily and mental harm. Deliberately inflicting conditions designed to destroy the group. And imposing measures to prevent births. They concluded these acts were carried out with genocidal intent. That's where we are today. Neighborhoods reduce the rubble. Family starving in plain sight. A leader promising endless war and the UN calling it genocide. Even as Trump pushes his new peace deal and Hamas accepted aspects of the proposal, the killing didn't stop. NBC News reported that since Saturday morning, 54 bodies were brought to Gaza Hospitals, 45 of them in Gaza City. Some were killed in airstrikes. Others were shot as they tried to return to their homes or while waiting for aid. That is the reality on the ground. Palestinians still dying by the dozens each day, even as talk of ceasefires and peace plans fill the headlines. Meanwhile, the world is busy staging symbolic performances. On September 21st, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and Portugal, formerly recognized Palestine as a state. Here's UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer:

7:09

Meanwhile, the manmade humanitarian crisis in Gaza reaches new deaths. The Israeli government's relentless and increasing bombardment of Gaza, the offensive of recent weeks, the starvation and devastation are utterly intolerable. Tens of thousands have been killed, including thousands. As they tried to collect food and water, this death and destruction horrifies all of us. The hope of a two-state solution is fading, but we cannot let that light go out. So today to revive the hope of peace and a two-state solution, I state clearly. As Prime minister of this great country that the United Kingdom formally recognizes, the state of Palestine.

Raheel Khan: 8:16

​headlines called it historic. With that, more than three quarters of UN member states now officially recognize Palestine. The next day, the first day of the UN meeting in New York, France made a similar declaration in a joint meeting with Saudi Arabia. But here's the reality. Recognition doesn't create sovereignty. It doesn't lift the blockade, it doesn't give Palestinians control of their borders, airspace, or resources. Israel still decides who and what moves in and out. Settlements keep expanding. Homes are demolished daily, and while diplomats made speeches, the invasion of Gaza City raged on. Conservatives in Israel even talked about splitting the West Bank to ensure that no Palestinian state could ever be formed. As one Palestinian student told NPR."We want people to speak up to change something. Not to just say it and move on." Five days later, Netanyahu walked into the UN General Assembly. Before he even reached the podium, delegates from 77 countries had walked out. He stood in the half empty hall and declared recognition,"shameful and disgraceful". He vowed Israel would finish the job in Gaza. He knew he had us backing. Just days earlier, Trump had called recognition of Palestine, a"gift to Hamas". Netanyahu took it even further, making his position crystal clear."There will be no Palestinian state west of the Jordan River". In a truly Orwellian move, his voice echoed through Gaza blaring from loudspeakers, hijacked phones, and forced live streams. Under the pretext that it was so the hostages could hear him, but really it was the Palestinians bombed, starved, and silenced who were forced to listen as Netanyahu denied their right to exist as a nation. That same week, Trump was working the sidelines in New York, meeting Arab leaders pushing his new peace plan. The following Monday, September 29th, he unveiled the plan at the White House, standing next to Netanyahu. He called it"one of the great days in civilization". On paper, it offered big concessions. All Israeli hostages released within 72 hours. Israel freeing nearly 2000 Palestinian prisoners. The war stopping immediately. Humanitarian aid flooding into Gaza through UN backed agencies. Sounds like progress. But here's the catch. For Trump, the plan is not about the details. Haaretz, an Israeli, newspaper and others reported he was pushing hard because the Nobel Peace Prize vote is on October 10th and he wants it. He's been chasing the prize since his first term, often pointing to Obama's award as proof of how unfair he's been treated. In Trump's mind. If Obama got it, he deserves it more. And the irony, Netanyahu himself nominated Trump for the award earlier this year. That gave Netanyahu leverage. Over the weekend, he was able to reshape the plan working through Trump's envoys, Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff. He knew Trump wouldn't sweat the fine print. Trump wanted the headline, and the Nobel. Arab leaders were furious when they saw what had changed. Edits made without their input. Remember, Trump's team had been negotiating with them for weeks only to alter key details at the last minute. The new draft gave Israel a veto over withdrawal and the right to keep troops in Gaza indefinitely until securities is ensured, which could mean forever. Beyond the changes Netanyahu secured, there were other provisions in the plan that alarmed diplomats and human rights groups alike. First Gaza wouldn't be governed by Palestinians. It would be overseen by an international body, the so-called"Board of Peace". At the top. Donald Trump appointed himself chair. Alongside him sits former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, the man, Haaretz reports is effectively running gaza's reconstruction effort. Blair has been involved from the very start, leveraging diplomatic and business ties that made him immensely wealthy. He ceded the ceremonial chairman title to Trump, but continues to act as chief executive. Coordinating with Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner and US special envoy to the Middle East. Steve Witkoff, who himself is a real estate mogul. Blair is an Israeli supporter through and through. During the war he was even spotted at Israel's defense headquarters in Tel Aviv."We've been friends for 20 years" defense Minister Yoav Gallant told Haaretz."when he wants to hear the truth, he comes to me". Reporting for the Middle East Eye and Haaretz details the names of those expected to join him. None of them Palestinian. Yet, all granted political and legal authority over Gaza. Among them is Aryeh Lightstone. A former Trump Envoy and CEO of the Abraham Accords Peace Institute. He helped create the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, the aid network that replaced the UN as Gaza's main distributor of food, and which Doctors Without Borders has accused of"institutionalized starvation and orchestrated killing". But that's not all. Lightstone has said,"there's no appropriate timing for a Palestinian state" and that removing Hamas must come before any talks. Financial records also link him to Im Tirtzu, a far right Israeli group, so extreme that even Netanyahu once condemned it for labeling artists and human rights obligate as foreign agents. He's not a neutral technocrat, he's an Ideologue. The man overseeing Gaza's. Humanitarian relief is someone whose career has been built on entrenching Israeli control. Then there are the billionaires, Mark Rowan, a Wall Street financier who called Israel's campaign, a"Just War" and Naguib Sawiris, an Egyptian magnet and longtime Blair ally, pushing for Gaza to become a Dubai style free market enclave. Together they represent the financial vision of this so-called peace; profit before people. Finally, Sigrid Kaag, the only woman and the only UN technocrat named. She's described Gaza as a"stain in our collective conscience", condemned the"weaponization of aid" and called the devastation"a moon landscape". Her words show she understands the scale of suffering. But on this board, her voice will be in the minority, a token member included, only to create the illusion that all sides are being considered. Under this structure, Palestinian officials would exist, but only those deemed neutral by the board. In essence, though, they have no independent authority, no real power. Most of these figures do not appear to have Gaza's interests at heart. This isn't reconstruction. It's an investment opportunity. This is what Trump calls peace, a governing council of billionaires, ideologues, and Western diplomats deciding when Palestinians have reformed enough to rule themselves. The plan is so extreme that even the United Nations took notice. Its legal office issued a review identifying 15 separate violations of international law: from denying Palestinians the right to self-determination, to legitimizing indefinite occupation, to handing governance to foreign powers with no Democratic mandate. Those violations weren't accidental. They were written into the fine print. Buried in the plan was one telling line."The PA Palestinian Authority) Reform Program is faithfully carried out. Conditions may finally be in place for a credible pathway to Palestinian self-determination and statehood, which we recognize as the aspiration of the Palestinian people." Sounds promising, right? Until you hear what reform actually means. Netanyahu, spelled it out at the White House Press conference.

16:10

As for the Palestinian authority, I appreciate your firm position that the PA could have no role whatsoever in Gaza without undergoing a radical and genuine transformation. In your 2020 Peace plan, which you mentioned just now, you made clear what that transformation requires. It's not lip service, it's not checking a box. It's a fundamental, genuine, and enduring transformation, and that means ending pay to slay, changing the poisonous textbooks that teach hatred to Jews, to Palestinian children. Stopping incitement in the media, ending lawfare against Israel at the ICC, the ICJ, recognizing the Jewish state and many, many other reforms.

Raheel Khan: 17:02

With those kinds of demands, Palestinian self-governance will be impossible. In effect, Palestinians must accept every injustice, renounce every form of resistance, and absolve Israel of all guilt and responsibility for any and all atrocities. Only then will Israel even consider granting them basic rights. With the illusion of diplomacy collapsing, arab leaders frustrated, Hamas stalling. Trump, never one for waiting. Decided to force the issue. On October 3rd, Trump issued an ultimatum. Hamas had until Sunday to accept, or in his words,"all hell, like no one has ever seen before, will break out". That's not negotiation. It's extortion. Accept colonial administration or face annihilation. Later that day, Hamas responded with a conditional"yes, but..." agreeing to release hostages and back a Palestinian technocratic government, while quietly sidestepping Trump's foreign control board, and any promise to disarm. Trump declared them ready for peace. He even told Israel to"stop the bombs", but the bombs didn't stop as I said above. In the 24 hours after his tweet, at least 54 more Palestinians were killed across Gaza. Proof that the rhetoric of peace meant nothing on the ground. And the deal itself remains fragile. Hamas hasn't accepted all the terms, and Netanyahu has a long record of sabotaging peace. Haaretz warn just days earlier about the danger of trusting him to deliver. While those negotiations played out in conference rooms and press briefings, another struggle was unfolding on the water. A flotilla, the largest ever, was on its way to Gaza. Carrying hundreds of activists determined to break an 18 year long naval blockade. By late August over 40 boats set sail for Gaza. Nearly 500 activists from over 44 countries. Known as the Global Sumud Flotilla, the aid they carried was mostly symbolic. They couldn't carry enough aid to make a real difference. Their main goal was to open a humanitarian pathway. So aid could be delivered to Gaza and to draw attention to the blockade. The passengers included European Parliament members, students, union leaders, and ordinary people risking their freedom to deliver aid. Alongside them are well-known figures. Nelson Mandela's grandson, Mandla Mandela. Actors, Liam Cunningham and Susan Sarandon, and climate activist Greta Thunberg. They knew the risks. In 2010, Israeli commandos killed 10 activists on a similar Flotilla. Multiple other Flotillas over the years, including one earlier this summer, were intercepted. Still, they sailed anyway. Greta Thunberg put it best. Sailing toward Gaza she warned:

19:55

Of course it's good that, um, the Palestinian causes more on the agenda, but these symbolic gestures will lead nowhere unless they are accompanied with real action. For example, Sweden, where I'm from, has recognized Palestine for over 10 years. We have had a Palestinian embassy and we are still complicit in this genocide, uh, financially, uh, politically and military while supporting. In this genocide, which makes us complicit. Now, the UN Commission has confirmed what Palestinians and human rights organizations have been saying for a very long time, that there is a genocide going on in Gaza and under international law states have a legal duty to act, not only to speak up, but do everything in their power to stop it, ending arms transfers, ending complicity, and applying real pressure.

Raheel Khan: 20:45

But this time it seemed like things might be different. Spain and Italy had even sent naval warships to escort them, calling the flotilla"a humanitarian act", NOT"a provocation" or"an act of war". But as the boats neared Gaza, the war ships stopped, turned back. Leaving the activist to face the Israeli navy alone. On October 1st and second, Israeli forces intercepted the flotilla in international waters; blasting the boats with water cannons, jamming communications, cutting live streams and boarding every vessel. Hundreds were detained. The aid they carried never reached Gaza. And then came the humiliation. National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, visited the detention center, mocking the activists on video."These are the flotilla terrorist supporters of murderers", he sneered. Dismissing the aid effort as nothing more than"a party". After their capture, the Guardian and other news agencies reported that several activists, including Greta Thunberg, were mistreated in Israeli custody. Protests erupted worldwide. In Barcelona, more than 15,000 people marched. In Italy, students occupied universities and the country's largest union called for a general strike. Demonstrations filled the streets of Paris, Berlin, Geneva, Dublin, Athens, and multiple other cities around the world. Turkey called the raid an act of terrorism. When it came to consequences, only Columbia took real action, expelling Israeli diplomats and canceling its trade agreement. Most European countries and the United States did nothing. This is what Palestinian sovereignty looks like under symbolic recognition. Even when escorted by NATO warships Palestinians' allies are left to be boarded in international waters. Even when hundreds of people including world renowned figures, risk their freedom. Israel does what it wants, without consequence. The activist showed what solidarity looks like. The warships showed what symbolism looks like. That's the difference between gestures and real action. And so that brings us back to today. Two years after October 7th, what has actually changed for Palestinians? Over 67,000 dead. Famine declared in Gaza City. The United Nations has finally called it what it is, genocide. Neighborhoods systematically reduced to rubble. A leader promising permanent war. And now a peace plan that hands their future to billionaires and war criminals. Even if that deal goes through, Palestinians will still live under the same suffocating conditions that led to October 7th in the first place. Blockaded,controlled, stateless, governed indefinitely by others under the guise of security. The only difference, instead of Israel alone, it's Israel plus Trump, Blair and their billionaire board. We've seen this play before. Empty condemnations, performative recognition, promises of reform that never come. The world stages peace while Palestinians keep dying. Recognition must come with enforcement, real sanctions, real accountability, real consequences. Peace must mean sovereignty, not netanyahu's reforms, not aspirations buried in fine print. Not colonial boards deciding when Palestinians are finally ready for freedom. The flotilla made that clear. Those who had nothing risked everything, those with power turned away. That's not just the story of a blockade. It's a story of our time. Until Palestinians have what every people deserve, freedom, dignity, and the right to determine their own future. This cycle will never end. Thank you for listening. If this episode helped you see the truth behind the symbolism, please share it. Until next time, stay curious, stay critical, and stay connected.