A Ceasefire Dawns?
With just 3 plus days before the beginning of a new administration, Israel is about to do what we all expected. They will vote today to impose a unilateral ceasefire. Israeli troops will remain in Gaza, but apparently the shooting will stop. Whether this is the end of things, no one knows, but it's unlikely this is anything more than a pause in the fighting. Israel has to stop now, because it can't be fighting on the inauguration day of its foremost ally.
But what is the way forward? How can we move beyond this impasse?
It is clear that nothing will happen without American involvement. And American involvement must be thorough, sustained, and start early. No more waiting until the ends of second terms.
The goal? An equitable solution to a half century plus conflict. Both sides must recognize the presence of the other and then work out a way of making this work, whether a two state or a one state or a bi-national state or what? Factored into this equation must be a sense of justice -- a respect for the humanity of the other.
But that will take time and it won't happen today or tomorrow. There are hawks on all sides, wanting to press for an advantage. There are those on both sides that believe this to be all or nothing. Those kinds of attitudes will, however, only lead to death and destruction.
This latest conflict has damaged Israeli credibility, even as it has demonstrated its military prowess. It did learn lessons from Lebanon, but some of them may have been the wrong ones. In an attempt to damage Hamas it decided to punish the people of Gaza and to destroy necessary infrastructure. It killed many civilians -- the numbers unknown at this time. It was disproportionate to the "cause."
Now it's time to go a different direction! And Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, and associates will need to play a central role in this.
But what is the way forward? How can we move beyond this impasse?
It is clear that nothing will happen without American involvement. And American involvement must be thorough, sustained, and start early. No more waiting until the ends of second terms.
The goal? An equitable solution to a half century plus conflict. Both sides must recognize the presence of the other and then work out a way of making this work, whether a two state or a one state or a bi-national state or what? Factored into this equation must be a sense of justice -- a respect for the humanity of the other.
But that will take time and it won't happen today or tomorrow. There are hawks on all sides, wanting to press for an advantage. There are those on both sides that believe this to be all or nothing. Those kinds of attitudes will, however, only lead to death and destruction.
This latest conflict has damaged Israeli credibility, even as it has demonstrated its military prowess. It did learn lessons from Lebanon, but some of them may have been the wrong ones. In an attempt to damage Hamas it decided to punish the people of Gaza and to destroy necessary infrastructure. It killed many civilians -- the numbers unknown at this time. It was disproportionate to the "cause."
Now it's time to go a different direction! And Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, and associates will need to play a central role in this.
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