OPINION: Don’t Take the Narrow View of What’s Happening in Gaza

—  Wars and Skirmishes Don’t Occur in A Vacuum.

Shadi Hamid | The Atlantic 

As always in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, two narratives are vying for primacy. In one, Israel is simply defending itself against a fresh attack. In the other, Israel’s bombardment of Gaza is the latest example of a desire to punish and humiliate Palestinians.

These two narratives are not reconcilable, which makes reasoned discussion an exercise in futility. But any sophisticated argument must contend with the long, winding lead-up to the current crisis. Why is war in Gaza returning now, and why does it always seem to return, with stubborn, periodic insistence?         

Metro Gaza – By Uri Avnery

Metro Gaza – By Uri Avnery – 09/08/14

TEL AVIV has no metro. It has been discussed for decades. Successive mayors have promised it. Alas, still no metro.

When the Israeli army entered the Gaza strip and found there an astounding system of underground tunnels, an idea made the rounds: Why not invite Hamas to build the Tel Aviv metro? They have the expertise, the technology, the planners, the manpower.

But this war is no joke. It is a terrible tragedy.

AFTER 29 DAYS of fighting (until now), who has won?

It is, of course, much too early to draw final conclusions. The ceasefire has blown up. It will take months and years to sum up all the consequences. But Israeli popular wisdom has already drawn its own conclusions: it is a draw.

Gaming Israel and Palestine – George Friedman – commentary

Gaming Israel and Palestine

Geopolitical Weekly  – Tuesday, July 29, 2014 – Stratfor

By George Friedman

“Gaming Israel and Palestine is republished with permission of Stratfor.”

We have long argued that the Arab-Israeli conflict is inherently insoluble. Now, for the third time in recent years, a war is being fought in Gaza. The Palestinians are firing rockets into Israel with minimal effect. The Israelis are carrying out a broader operation to seal tunnels along the Gaza-Israel boundary. Like the previous wars, the current one will settle nothing. The Israelis want to destroy Hamas’ rockets.

They can do so only if they occupy Gaza and remain there for an extended period while engineers search for tunnels and bunkers throughout the territory. This would generate Israeli casualties from Hamas guerrillas fighting on their own turf with no room for retreat. So Hamas will continue to launch rockets, but between the extreme inaccuracy of the rockets and Israel’s Iron Dome defense system, the group will inflict little damage to the Israelis.