For the majority of westerners, the Israel-Palestine conflict is a little confusing, distant, disturbing and depressing, especially the latest military campaign led by the Israeli forces, Operation Protective Edge. However, for the people on each side of the Israel-Gaza Strip divide, the situation has intensified beyond belief, as the military campaign is the third of its kind over the last seven years.
The operation started in July 2014 as Israeli president Benjamin Netanyahu sanctioned the military intervention in response to increased rocket fire from Gaza and the West Bank in June earlier this year. The rocket fire was in retaliation for the arrest of Hamas members during Israel’s search for three murdered Israeli teenagers, with Hamas claiming responsibility for the missile attacks for the first time since 2012.
The conflict follows on from the devastation of Israel’s 2008 Operation Cast Lead and Operation Pillar of Defence in 2012, which subsequently resulted in Palestinian resurgences of suicide-bombs and missiles and renewed support for Hamas, the leading political and military faction in the Gaza Strip. The question then is, what makes the Israeli President think that Operation Protective Edge is going to be any different?
Perhaps the key differential between the current campaign and it’s two predecessors is that the political landscape has changed significantly in the Middle East, resulting in a reduction in Hamas allies in the region. The most important of these is the downfall of former Egyptian president, Mohammed Morsi, during the Arab Spring, which has isolated Hamas, leaving them to carry on without the support that they previously benefited from.
What this means is that the Israeli government has got more potential to remove the threat of Hamas retaliation and aggression once and for all. If they can destroy their tunnel network underneath Garza City, eradicate their guns, missile and explosives stock pile and systematically remove key leadership and structures then the organisation may never be able to recover to the level of infrastructure, armaments and power that it currently has, taking away the threat for the foreseeable future.
The problem is that it’s a risky strategy, especially as it’s taking such a huge toll on the people within the Gaza Strip. One of the reasons the conflict still continues is that retribution and renewed support for Hamas has always been the end result of campaigns like Operation Protective Edge and there’s no reason to expect things to be different this time around.
Hamas has been designated a terrorist organisation by Israel, the US, EU, Canada and Japan for good reasons, not least of all because they refuse to renounce violence, continue to attack Israel and have a commitment to destroying Israel written within their documented covenant. It’s like if Tesco published an annual report that sets out to grow profits, increase diversification coverage and wipe Sainsbury’s from the face of the Earth.
Even if Hamas is significantly quashed and lacking in ally support following the military action in the Gaza Strip, there will still be enough bad feeling in whatever is left of it to mount some form of post-campaign protest. Without the missiles and sophisticated explosives they’ll probably turn to more suicide bomb attacks using dirty tactics and weaponry to show their teeth. The controlling faction may also benefit from renewed support from the people in Gaza and the West Bank, leading to yet more willing participants in the fight and more conflict in the years to come.
Hamas is not the only rebel faction within the Gaza Strip either, so it’s possible that the hydra hypothesis could kick in for the region if the current lead faction is wiped out sufficiently. While there is a chance that this could be a change for the better – after all peace can never stand a chance when one of the major contributing parties has confirmed in its own documentation that it is committed to destroying the opposing side – equally it could just lead to a new and, potentially, more dangerous beast raising it’s ugly head.
As ever with this type of catch 22 situation, conflict just seems to lead to yet more conflict, so until there’s a sizeable change of hearts and minds on both sides of the huge divide little will change. Admittedly, there is an outside chance of Hamas being taken out completely, and a new, more progressive faction taking control of the Palestinian strongholds, it will count for nothing if Israel doesn’t do enough to forge a positive relationship with their Palestine neighbours afterwards.
Religion plays a big part in the situation with both sides claiming religious sites throughout Israel and Palestine. There’s also a fair amount of extremism to take into account, for example Islamic Jihad, which operates in the region too, so the situation is far from just being a clash of territory and leadership in the region, despite the fact that both Judaism and Islam stem from the same original Abrahamic religious texts and fundamentally worship the same god.
With all of this in mind, the big question is whether or not there’s a credible solution to the conflict and an end to military campaigns like Operation Protective Edge. The reality is that peace is possibly decades away with the level of antagonism and complex motivations on both sides of the conflict, not least of all the bad feelings that have become entrenched because of the atrocities that have become common place in the region.
An astounding amount of acceptance and forgiveness would need to be adopted throughout both Israeli and Palestinian society before the entrenched walls of the dividing battle lines can be drawn back. Cooperative government structures and civil infrastructure would then be needed, but before all of that can even become a logical suggestion, Israel need to adopt smarter, less intensive military intervention to attacking forces like Hamas and Islamic Jihad.
If every Israeli campaign involves massive Palestinian civilian casualties, then there is always going to be a call for retribution and a stronger resolve to support the likes of Hamas. On the other hand, if the Israeli government can invest in military strategies and solutions that can deal with the threat of Hamas and the other Palestinian military attacks without causing such significant casualties and damage they would stand much more chance of coming close to a long term solution.
Equally, the people of Palestine will need to stop backing antagonistic factions if they are ever to approach something resembling peace. Each rocket fired and suicide bomb detonated will only strengthen the resolve of the Israeli government and its people to further back significant military campaigns in Gaza and the West Bank. Palestinians will need to become active proponents of peace and discourage factions digging tunnels and hiding munitions in and around their residences for a resolution to become possible.
One of our biggest concerns, and perhaps it’s our naturally cynical nature, is that the Israel economy has a lot of economic vested interest in military technology and weaponry. It’s an extreme potential standpoint, but it’s one that has echoes of the questions about the Weapons of Mass Destruction in Iraq. It’s not something we’re suggesting as such, and there’s definitely an element of chicken and egg debate around Israel’s continued investment in the weapons industry, but we would definitely like to see more of this going into more peaceful and protective military technology rather than missiles, guns and war ships.
