AThe Flydubai aircraft incident highlighted, more than anything else, the immense confusion in Israel since October 7th and the urge to escape a despairing reality into a stirring narrative—the kind media outlets love so much. Israel has a long history of heroism dating back to the dawn of the modern state—heroism that has always been characterized by a sense of proportion, humility, and an intimate familiarity with darkness and shadow. That is precisely where heroism belongs: in humility and secrecy, not in days of arrogant, unbridled media coverage that serves mainly to distract from the endless strategic war threatening Israel’s very existence. This war rages while the country is governed by the most foolish, extreme, and inept administration in Israel’s history. The State of Israel’s fate hangs in the balance, and government actions—such as prolonging the war—have already triggered far-reaching changes across the Middle East. The most threatening of these shifts is the joint attempt by Turkey and Iran to deceive the free world and establish a radical Islamist axis in the Middle East (despite Turkey’s status as a European nation, notwithstanding its Asian geography) dedicated to Israel’s destruction. Opposing this axis is a fearful, hesitant, and almost helpless initiative from Ramallah to establish an Arab-Israeli axis in the Middle East in exchange for the Palestinian Authority’s entry into Gaza (we use the term "Ramallah" rather than "the Palestinian Authority" due to the endless internal squabbles within the PA over every issue—certainly over a diplomatic move of such critical importance). It is worth noting that Saudi Arabia makes its participation in such an axis conditional upon the establishment of a Palestinian state with its capital in East Jerusalem (see today’s headline), whereas Ramallah’s only condition for the move is entry into the Gaza Strip—a step that would clarify its anticipated sovereignty over both the West Bank and Gaza, as well as the general outlines of the Palestinian state it seeks to achieve. This distinction between the Saudi approach (which is undoubtedly coordinated with the Palestinian Authority) and the Palestinian approach suggests there is room for negotiation regarding the very formation of the axis—a point Israel is implicitly being asked to note. Surprisingly, after having previously taken steps toward Turkey (such as participating in a naval exercise directed against Israel during the Gaza flotilla incident in September 2025), Egypt is now fully aligned with Ramallah; should its conditions be met, it would openly support the Arab Israeli axis (what prevents Trump from summoning everyone to Camp David? The new American interest in Turkey, and the desire for Turkey to "pull the chestnuts out of the fire" for the U.S. in the Middle East in the future).Israel has a long history of heroism dating back to the dawn of the modern state—heroism that has always been characterized by a sense of proportion, humility, and an intimate familiarity with darkness and shadow. That is precisely where heroism belongs: in humility and secrecy, not in days of arrogant, unbridled media coverage that serves mainly to distract from the endless strategic war threatening Israel’s very existence. This war rages while the country is governed by the most foolish, extreme, and inept administration in Israel’s history. The State of Israel’s fate hangs in the balance, and government actions—such as prolonging the war—have already triggered far-reaching changes across the Middle East. The most threatening of these shifts is the joint attempt by Turkey and Iran to deceive the free world and establish a radical Islamist axis in the Middle East (despite Turkey’s status as a European nation, notwithstanding its Asian geography) dedicated to Israel’s destruction. Opposing this axis is a fearful, hesitant, and almost helpless initiative from Ramallah to establish an Arab-Israeli axis in the Middle East in exchange for the Palestinian Authority’s entry into Gaza (we use the term "Ramallah" rather than "the Palestinian Authority" due to the endless internal squabbles within the PA over every issue—certainly over a diplomatic move of such critical importance). It is worth noting that Saudi Arabia makes its participation in such an axis conditional upon the establishment of a Palestinian state with its capital in East Jerusalem (see today’s headline), whereas Ramallah’s only condition for the move is entry into the Gaza Strip—a step that would clarify its anticipated sovereignty over both the West Bank and Gaza, as well as the general outlines of the Palestinian state it seeks to achieve. This distinction between the Saudi approach (which is undoubtedly coordinated with the Palestinian Authority) and the Palestinian approach suggests there is room for negotiation regarding the very formation of the axis—a point Israel is implicitly being asked to note. Surprisingly, after having previously taken steps toward Turkey (such as participating in a naval exercise directed against Israel during the Gaza flotilla incident in September 2025), Egypt is now fully aligned with Ramallah; should its conditions be met, it would openly support the Arab Israeli axis (what prevents Trump from summoning everyone to Camp David? The new American interest in Turkey, and the desire for Turkey to "pull the chestnuts out of the fire" for the U.S. in the Middle East in the future).