Every time Palestinians have fought with Israel, they have lost heavily. That has historically been the case, including the more recent Gaza wars over the past two decades which invariably saw Palestinians dying in far greater numbers than Israelis. It is also the case with the latest cycle of violence triggered by Hamas’s dastardly cross-border attack, inviting brutal retribution from an angry Israel that apparently is seeking to avenge the deaths of its citizens by killing as many Palestinian civilians as possible.On the face of it, the Palestinians are being pummelled into submission with no hopes for the future. Israeli warplanes are carpet bombing the tiny silver of land that is the Gaza Strip, making no distinction between Hamas fighters and ordinary civilians who may or may not be supporters of the armed group. Hundreds have already died while thousands more run the risk of dying. There seems to be no escaping the Israeli assault that has not even spared hospitals and medical staff. In more ways than one, Gazans are stranded and doomed. Even if they manage to survive Israeli firepower, many are likely to be felled by the debilitating food and medicine shortages caused by the crippling Israeli blockade.But what purpose do the death and destruction serve for Israel, apart from seeking revenge for what Hamas did? To be precise, it does little. Yes, Israel has once again proven its military might, killing and maiming Palestinians in large numbers. They have also reduced much of the Gazans into destitutes by turning their neighbourhoods into virtual ruins. It is also in the realm of possibility that the Israeli assault will succeed in weakening, if not entirely obliterating Hamas.But what after that is a pertinent question to ask.No matter the intensity and insanity, the Israeli offensive is unlikely to solve its biggest predicament: what to do with the Palestinian problem. If at all, the latest violence deepens the Palestinian hatred towards Israel and further fuels the Palestinian cause that Israel had so desperately sought with its brute power to sweep under the carpet.Hamas or no Hamas, the Palestinians are unlikely to forget and forgive Israel in a hurry. Rendered refugees in their own land, their sufferings are deep-rooted and grievances long. Their aspirations to retrieve what they lost and to have a country of their own minus the indignities they currently suffer under the Israeli occupation are also real. No amount of Israeli coercive tactics will ever be enough to push the Palestinian people to give up on their collective dreams.For that matter, the Hamas attack this time highlighted the shortcomings of Israel’s strongarm policies. It has been years now that Israel has been attempting to choke Gaza, making periodic incursions into the strip that it has kept under tight siege to finish off the armed group. It has killed Hamas leaders and fighters in hundreds and targeted incessantly their labyrinth of supply tunnels that the group uses to arm itself. Yet, the Hamas survived and managed to spring a surprise by launching what was its biggest cross-border attack.Clearly, Palestinian armed opposition will continue in some form or another as long as Israel lets the root causes – issues such as Palestinian statehood and the right of Palestinians to a dignified life – to fester unattended. Taking on mere symptoms such as Hamas may yield temporary results, but will do little to solve the long-standing problem permanently. As a matter of fact, Israeli intransigence remains the perfect incubator for an armed resistance.Fortunately, just as not every Gazan is a Hamas supporter, not every Israeli is what the current government in Israel represents. The current Israeli leadership comprises elements who are evidently extremists in their beliefs and outlooks. Many of them would be too happy to see Palestinians being dumped en masse into the sea and Israel annexing their land, lock, stock, and barrel.Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Photo: X/@netanyahuSo, hopefully when this current cycle of mayhem stops – it after all will someday – saner minds on the Israeli side will pause to ponder what brought matters between them and the Palestinians to such a pass. There is a lot to contemplate and take corrective measures. No population can bear indefinitely the daily indignities that the Palestinians have had to bear. Gaza is an open prison ringed by Israel from all sides. The West Bank fares only marginally better with intermittent Israeli army checkpoints under whose noses Israeli settlers have been grabbing more Palestinian land and setting up newer settlements.Angrier Palestinians, post the current phase of death and destruction, pose greater problems for Israel. Their grievances unattended, Palestinians will look to vent their frustrations in whichever way possible. Even if Hamas ceases to exist as a potent armed group, there will be no dearth of hot-heads among Palestinian ranks who would seek to harm Israelis wherever they live – in Israel or elsewhere. Instead of pummelling them into submission, Israel by its indiscriminate attack on Gaza may have accentuated the problem by provoking and converting more Palestinians into hardliners.This is something that the Israelis themselves would come to realise once the dust in Gaza settles and the deceptive calm returns. By far the greatest military strength in the region, its fabled security apparatus failed miserably against ingenious Palestinians, some of whom paraglided into Israeli territory to kill its citizens. It could fail in the future too – both in Israel and abroad – if the Palestinian problem is to persist.By all accounts, the latest mayhem will end up mainstreaming the Palestinian cause that otherwise seemed to be meandering minus much resonance in the recent past. Aided by its friends in the West, Israel had been ignoring it at its own peril. Even neighbouring Arab states had covertly given it short shrift for normalising ties with the Jewish state and boosting bilateral trade. But driven deeper into despair, Palestinians are likely to pursue it with greater vigour now. Ditto with many Israelis. Stung by the Hamas atrocity, they are likely to seek a more durable solution rather than surgical strikes that guarantee them no long-term security. Even other nations would possibly be compelled to take the Palestinian problem that has the potential to trigger a regional conflagration more seriously.By indiscriminately killing Palestinians, Israel may have just injected the moribund Palestinian cause a fresh lease of life.Ruben Banerjee is a former Al Jazeera editor who lived in the Middle East for more than a decade.