At a time of war and heightened emotions, the facts of the past two days are worth remembering. More than 1,000 people have died in Gaza and Israel, including dozens of children, since Saturday morning, and thousands more have been injured. Those numbers are not likely to stay static.
The trigger point for this deadly round of violence was a co-ordinated cross-border attack by Hamas operatives, which caught Israeli intelligence services completely off-guard. The bloody attack was swiftly followed by a declaration of war by the Israeli cabinet. And yet the timeline of the current escalation goes back months, and the problem of occupation goes back decades.
The timing of Hamas's attacks on Saturday is indicative. The decades-long road to a failed peace in the region is littered with anniversaries, none more so than the autumn months. The Hamas operation began a day after the 50th anniversary of the 1973 war and only a few days after the 30th anniversary of the Oslo Accords. The 1978 Camp David Accords between Israel and Egypt, which were meant to pave the way for a broader regional settlement, also marked their 45th anniversary last month.
All of those agreements, which failed in paving the way to a two-state solution that allows for Palestinians and Israelis to live side by side in peace, point to an apparent paucity of workable solutions and to the seemingly inevitable conclusion that the heaviest price in that culture of failure is usually paid by civilians.
The terminology of vengeance, used by both Hamas and Israel over the weekend, indicates a decisive unwillingness to embark on the tougher challenge to reach workable solutions that aim for peace. The lack of leadership by the Palestinian Authority cannot be excused, either. But despite world leaders condemning the bloodshed and calling for de-escalation once again, the foregone conclusion is that more destruction and death is yet to come.
In the absence of political will to move beyond the stasis, it is Palestinians, including the two million people blockaded in Gaza, who will bear the steepest sacrifices. Violence in the West Bank has also been more severe in the past year than in previous decades. After last year's election of the most right-wing government in Israel's history, and controversial changes to the country's judicial system, the army's raids inside the occupied West Bank have increased. They have claimed the lives of civilians, including the June "military operation" in Jenin that killed 12 Palestinians and led to 4,000 fleeing their homes that were burnt or destroyed. The continued threats in Jerusalem, including to Al Aqsa Mosque, have caused further damage.
Even as the attack by Hamas militants is every bit worthy of condemnation, the timing is unlikely to have been coincidental or surprising, seen in the context of the provocation that led up to it. For these periodic chapters of horrific violence to stop, a legitimate political solution is essential, as this paper has said in the past.
It is conceivable that demands will rise among Israel’s increasingly vocal far right to retaliate strongly. Such a response would appease some in the short term but run counter to the larger cause of peace and justice.
There needs once again to be a concerted effort towards finding a lasting political solution and ending the occupation. The onus is on the Israeli government to accommodate those seeking peaceful and diplomatic efforts to find such a solution. It is, perhaps, the only way to undermine the credibility of violent and extremist groups, whose means have led to bloodshed and instability in the region. These cycles of violence have revealed countless times in past years that war only begets more war. The warnings are clear. Now they must be heeded.
