The prophet Isaiah once expressed an optimistic view of the future. “They shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks,” he prophecied.
“Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.”
It's not happening right now in Gaza. Indeed, for scores of centuries, the Middle East has seen bloody conflict after conflict. Many nations have fought in the deserts and hills of the Holy Land and the surrounding region. Some of these combatants have vanished into the mists of history. But today, two peoples again are pounding each other with heavy weapons. And there is no end in sight.
The battle in Gaza is confusing. Each side blames the other. Neither shows any willingness yet to reach a cease fire. French president Nicolas Sarkozy found that out when he journeyed to the area to seek a cease fire. So far, Israeli officials say they will continue their air and ground campaigns until Hamas stops firing rockets into southern Israel. And Hamas gives its answer in actions. Hamas militants continue bombarding Israel border towns with rockets, even though there have been fewer rockets since Israel's campaign began.
Israel's foreign minister, Tzipi Livni, insists the Jewish nation is “not only defending its right to defend itself” but is fighting against “extremism and terror.”
Palestinian casualties are measured in the hundreds. Far fewer Israelis have been killed or injured.
Israel has a tradition of freedom of the press as strong as ours. Israeli politicians are exposed daily to withering criticism from the press. But Israeli authorities have barred foreign jounalists from covering the Gaza warfare on the grounds that the situation is unsafe and, also, that Hamas would be able to manipulate some of them and reinforce their bias against Israel. Here in New York, Human Rights Watch protested, declaring that the presence of foreign reporters could “discourage abuse by warring parties and help save lives.”
The perplexing thing for Israelis, as Yossi Alpher writes, is that “Israel is now fighting a non-state actor (Hamas), backed by Iran and operating out of a sovereign no-man's land or black hole (Gaza) from which Israel had previously withdrawn unilaterally.” Alpher says that occupation, removal of occupation, deterrence, tit-for-tat punishment, economic blockade have all failed. Says Alpher: “The enemy welcomes extreme hardship and loss of life – ‘martyrdom’ -- and seemingly would welcome reoccupation, anything that highlights Gazans' human suffering sells well in the Arab world and among human-rights activists in the west.”
The Palestinians are divided. A Hamas spokesman made it clear that Hamas, not the Palestinian Authority, was the party that will decide on war or peace with Israel. The spokesman said the “final word will be for the resistance movement” and not “'the so-called legitimate leadership in Ramallah.” Thus, a Gaza official has taken a verbal shot at the role of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, whose headquarters are in Ramallah in the West Bank.
There have been mass protests against Israel in the Aran and Muslim worlds and in several European countries. Both pro-Israel and pro-Palestinian New Yorkers have demonstrated here in recent days. President Bush defends Israel's actions, saying: “The situation now taking place was caused by Hamas, Instead of caring about the people of Gaza, Hamas decided to use Gaza to launch rockets to kill innocent Israelis. Israel's obvioously decided to protect herself and her people.” Similar words came from Mayor Bloomberg after a brief weekend visit to Israel.
The Arab nations who have long sought peace with Israel, Egypt and Jordan, are in an awkward position. They believe that Hamas ultimately wants to overthrow their governments, yet they know the warfare in Gaza has angered many of their citizens. So they are trying to work quietly to defuse tensions and help bring a cease-fire.
The Middle East, as always, is a muddle. Unless you glory in bloodshed, and some militants do, the prospects for the immediate future are poor indeed. Isaiah's prophecy seems as elusive as ever.
