The Palestinian-Israeli conflict ended decades ago with the country's founding and its victory in the 1967 Six-Day War, according to former U.S. Deputy National Security Adviser Victoria Coates.
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Speaking to ILTV on Monday at the Misgav Institute for National Security & Zionist Strategy, she said the Palestinians were never told they lost. Instead, "they were encouraged, particularly after the Iranian Revolution, to continue this self-defeating, suicidal, genocidal [behavior] we saw on October 7."
"Someone has to have the nerve to say to the Palestinians, we are not negotiating a ceasefire, we're negotiating terms" to end the conflict, she added.
Coates, an evangelical Christian and staunch supporter of the Jewish state has visited Israel many times. She has held several key political leadership roles, including serving in the Department of Energy, where she advised Secretary Dan Brouillette on national security issues and acted as his representative in the Middle East and North Africa.
Today, she serves as Vice President of the Kathryn and Shelby Cullom Davis Institute for National Security and Foreign Policy at The Heritage Foundation. She recently published a book, The Battle for the Jewish State: How Israel—and America—Can Win, which focuses on October 7 and why America must stand with Israel.
She said the possibilities for the Palestinians, if they were to disarm and accept defeat, are abundant.
"You could imagine what would flow into both the West Bank and Gaza, just the offers of assistance and the enthusiasm on the part of Israel," Coates said.
She added that some actions from the Trump administration, such as cutting funding, might help deliver this message.
However, while Coates is deeply passionate about Israel, she said her book aims to address issues in her own country. "Because this [Islamic extremism] isn't a Jewish or an Israel issue. This is a Western civilization issue," she explained.
"They might be coming for Israel right now, but the United States is next, make no mistake about it," Coates said.
She highlighted the rapid decline in U.S.-Israel relations, contrasting former President Donald Trump's signing of the Abraham Accords in September 2020 with the situation following October 7.
"It took just three and a half years of the Biden-Harris administration to return to the Obama-era policies of embracing Iran, of trying to elevate the Palestinian people, to result in October 7," she told ILTV.
The Abraham Accords, signed by the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and Israel, were a historic step toward normalization. Shortly afterward, Israel also established ties with Morocco and Sudan. Before October 7, Israel and Saudi Arabia also appeared close to normalizing relations. However, the tragedy of the massacre and the ongoing war have put any potential peace agreement on hold.
Despite this, analysts and sources within Saudi and Israeli leadership circles suggest that talks are still ongoing. Saudi Arabia has maintained its stance that peace is contingent on a Palestinian state, while Israel's parliament has overwhelmingly voted against such a solution.
Coates told ILTV she believes Trump would act decisively to expand the Abraham Accords, including securing a Saudi deal.
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Her book includes a foreword by one of her former bosses, Senator Ted Cruz, focusing on the rise of anti-Israel sentiment on U.S. college campuses. Coates said she reviewed curricula from top institutions, such as the University of Pennsylvania and Harvard, and found troubling themes.
"All of our great universities have these curricula that are peer-reviewed articles about how the International Criminal Court should declare Israel illegal, and then, by extension, the United States," Coates said. "And this is what we've just seen in recent months, with the arrest warrants for [former Defense Minister Yoav] Gallant and Prime Minister Netanyahu."
She called the arrest warrants "absurd" and "ridiculous" but added that they illustrate "how far" the situation has deteriorated.
Coates also addressed the concept of "settler colonialism," which originated in the 1960s, she said. The idea portrays the United States and Israel as inherently racist and imperialistic, regardless of their inclusive democracies or immigrant-driven societies.
"What kind of bullet did we dodge in the potential Harris-Walz administration, which was poised to be the most hostile in Israeli history?" Coates asked. "I think people began realizing the kind of steps they were taking, how they were setting that up, how dangerous that could be down the road."
Trump will likely operate with an "unabashedly pro-Israel stance" because he understands this approach is in America's best interest.
"I'm a Christian … but that's not why I am here and not why I wrote the book," Coates emphasized. "I wrote the book because the United States, we need Israel in the region, we need Israel locally, to be a partner and ally to us."
She highlighted Trump's nomination of former Governor Mike Huckabee as ambassador to Israel as an example of his pro-Israel policies and his understanding of the evangelical community that played a significant role in his election.
"You would assume that Israel would want a Jewish ambassador. But I think the enthusiasm for Governor Mike Huckabee is palpable," Coates said. "I think he can help bridge those two worlds and not make this a Jewish or Christian issue. This is an American issue. There are hundreds of millions of Americans who care deeply about Israel."