Israel and the Palestinians: Old Battles, New Middle East
Israel and the Palestinians: Old Battles, New Middle East
CAN there ever be a lasting peace between Arabs and Jews in the Middle East? Another round of bloodshed (see article) suggests that any such hope is vain. Amid the usual futile arguments over who started it, scores of buildings have been reduced to rubble; more than 140 Palestinians, most of them civilians, and six Israelis have been killed; and, for the first time, missiles from Gaza have landed near Tel Aviv, Israel’s metropolis, and the holy city of Jerusalem.
But though the Israelis and Palestinians seem stuck in their ancient conflict, all around them the Middle East is changing. The Arab spring has thrown the pieces up in the air, and, like it or not, the Palestinians and Israelis are caught up in the regional turmoil. Maybe this will make their struggle bloodier than before. However, there are reasons for thinking it could just break their lethal stalemate.
A war that is neither lost or won
At first sight, optimism looks very hard to justify now. Even if the ceasefire agreed on November 21st holds, this week’s fighting has strengthened the hawks on both sides.
The leaders of Hamas, the Islamist movement that has ruled Gaza since 2007, will claim to have forced the Israelis to back off, even though Gaza has taken a drubbing. Despite killing some of its leaders and bottling up Gaza’s 1.7m people in one of the most wretched and crowded corners of the planet, Israel has failed to destroy Hamas. Indeed Hamas is gaining on the West Bank, the other bit of Palestine currently run by its bitter rivals in Fatah, the more moderate Palestinian faction.