Gaza: it’s not over yet

I would like to postpone the series on the fourth dimension for one more day, in light of a piece of world news I would like to talk about. The article in question can be found here.

What does this mean? Simply that a ceasefire is far from a permanent truce. I suppose we knew that already—the Gaza crisis that just ended was a result of the previous ceasefire expiring. But I for one did not expect violence to erupt just yet; I figured it would be another few months at least until something happened.

The article also mentions the fact that George Mitchell will be traveling to Israel soon. However, I think that this is pretty inconsequential; though the US and Israel are allies, I doubt we will be able to negotiate a truce. The tumultuous relations between Israel, Gaza, and the West Bank will continue as always, and there is little we can do about it. I will repeat what I have said before: the UN needs to act, and swiftly. Though Secretary General Ban-Ki Moon (below and left) called for a ceasefire as soon as the conflict started, he did little but talk throughout the whole affair. The UN has committed troops to Africa, Asia, and other areas of Middle East in peacekeeping operations—why is this one exempt? Unless the UN demonstrates that it has the weight of the world behind it, it is never going to accomplish anything. 

Why does the conflict continue to escalate? According to a few New York Times articles I read recently, it has to do with the mindset of the people in the region. Both the Israelis and Palestinians are adverse to any kind of compromise, especially one that involves monetary repayment or a gift on land. Both sides want the opposing government to make concessions, but do not want their own government to apologize for anything. Also, to the surprise of many Americans, Hamas has a huge amount of support from Gazans, even those who admit the organization’s military wing has the most influence. The reason is simple: they want someone to exactly what Hamas is doing. The same goes for the average Israeli—the air strikes and invasions of Gaza have had huge popular support. We often believe that it is the governments in the region that are the root of the problem, but this is only half of the truth. Though I still believe that Hamas can be “cleaned up,” such a task would not have the popular support of many Gazans, which would make the process more difficult.

We must remember that this is a place where the usual “rules of war” do not faze either side a bit. Israel must present a dignified and civilized image to the Western world, and Hamas must to the same to some extent—but they are locked in a desperate stuggle against each other where almost anything goes. I doubt the Israeli army had any moral qualms about using white phosphorous; their main concern was probably that the rest of the world would find out and accuse them of war crimes.

Sadly, it appears that the Gaza crisis will continue to flare up without warning for many years to come, barring a huge change in the status quo. We can only hope that sooner or later both governments will come to the realization that neither of them can truly win this battle and make concessions. In the meantime, as I said before, all we can do is watch and wait.