Amid war, a real chance for peace in the Middle East

BY the time we went to print yesterday, close to 300 lives had been lost in the Gaza Strip in the military conflict between Israel and Hamas. Unless a permanent ceasefire is declared soon, the death toll looks set to rise further as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s administration pushes ahead with its so-called Operation Protective Edge.

As in many other military conflicts between the two parties, both sides are blaming each other for the violence.

Justifying Israel’s ground invasion of Gaza this week, Netanyahu’s government said its troops needed to eliminate the threat of rocket attacks on Israeli citizens emanating from the Hamas-controlled territory.

Hamas, on its side, blamed Israel for the conflict — pointing to the killing of a number of Palestinians by Israeli forces earlier this month.

However, the finger-pointing and the ongoing military action are not going to provide a long-term solution to the conflict.

No matter how many rockets Hamas directs at Israeli towns and villages, it is never going to topple Israel militarily.

And the sooner Israel realises that its military assault will not, in the long run, eliminate the threat of rocket fire directed at its territory, the better. A long-lasting solution to the conflict lies in dialogue. Yes, there have been many failed attempts in the past to bring peace to the region and end the Middle East’s longest-running conflict.

But a number of recent developments suggest that this time, given international support and political will from all sides involved, peace is possible.

Without the strong backing of its historical allies in Syria and Iran and among Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood, Hamas is in a weakened position — which explains its decision in April to enter into a “national consensus” with the more moderate Palestine Liberation Organisation faction led by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

The Israelis, on the other hand, are under immense international pressure by those who want to see the loss of innocent lives — most of which have been lost in Gaza — stopped.

This provides an opportunity for the likes of Abbas, US President Barack Obama — a Nobel peace prize winner — and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi to force the two parties to abandon the retaliatory violence and iron out their differences at a negotiating table.

Calls by pro-Palestinian groups here at home for a boycott of Israeli products are understandable given the outrage over the loss of civilian lives.

However, the only real assistance South Africa can give in this conflict is not to vilify one side or the other, but to promote the kind of dialogue that will eventually lead to a permanent and peaceful solution.