The Difficult Road to Finding Peace
For the past month, btw has been updating you on the latest flare-up in the long-standing conflict between Israel and Palestine. The recent rash of fighting began July 8 when the Hamas launched rockets into Israel, who responded with a counter-attack air campaign. As new developments continue to come out of the region daily, we thought we’d take this opportunity to take a closer look at the details and what they might mean.
Slowing the Violence
Representatives from the group Hamas (representing Palestine) met with mediators from Egypt. They agreed to a 72-hour cease-fire against the Israelis, set to start at 8:00 AM August 4. Israel did not attend the meeting but said in a statement that it would accept a proposed, unconditional ceasefire. As a condition of the truce, both sides were required to send delegations to Cairo for further talks during the “period of calm.”
While there have been several announcements of a possible truce between the sides, few have managed to last through the prescribed timetable, with each side blaming the other of forfeit. On July 15, Egypt attempted to broker a similar truce with Israel, but it was rejected by Hamas. On July 25, John Kerry, on behalf of the United States, presented a cease-fire proposed that was rejected by Israel. Just hours into a proposed 72-hour cease-fire planned for July 31, clashes between Hamas and Israeli troops void the agreement. On August 4, Israel implemented a seven-hour “humanitarian window,” which it broke shortly after it began by hitting a house in Gaza. On the same day, a Palestinian construction worker deliberately crashed a backhoe into a bus, killing an Israeli man.
Credit: Barry Barker/McGraw-Hill Education; the region around Jerusalem is once again in turmoil as Israeli leaders and Hamas leaders fight for their communities.
U.S. Involvement
In 1948, the United States was the first country to officially recognize the state of Israel, providing more than $118 billion in economic support in the years since. The two countries share common diplomatic, technological and military interests. On July 17, the Senate made a unanimous vote to reaffirm support for Israel, and publicly condemned Hamas for its rocket attacks.
In a recent statement, President Obama said that it has becoming increasing, “hard to reconcile Israel’s legitimate need to defend itself with our concern with [the civilians being threatened].” He said that this is why the United States is pushing so hard for a cease-fire. However, the United States’ relationship with Israel is becoming increasingly strained, as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is said to have responded to the latest cease-fire proposal as a “scolding.”