Israel and Gaza: The Price of “Just War”

Over a century ago, Prussian general and military theorist Carl Von Clausewitz said that war is merely an extension of diplomacy by other means. Though some may find this statement cynical, it does appear to have plenty of empirical grounding, especially when looking at the history of Israeli-Palestinian relations. Before the outbreak of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in 1948, Pope Pius XII advocated for a two-state solution and a neutral standing with a legal safeguard of the status of the Holy Land. The same idea has been continually promoted by the US and Western allies for decades, but diplomacy has failed over and over and ventured more than once into the so-called “extension by other means”.

Expansion of the war

Just three weeks after Hamas’ brutal attack on Israel and Israeli civilians, the conflict continues to escalate, spilling over as expected and involving more and more key international players, threatening dangerous proportions.

Iran has been particularly active, backing up attacks on U.S. military bases in Iraq and Syria and warning that Israel’s actions in Gaza ‘may force everyone’ to act. The U.S. responded by striking Iranian-backed militias in eastern Syria. In the meantime, Hezbollah is firing rockets at northern Israel from Lebanon, spreading fears among the population that Lebanon may be dragged into the conflict. Turkey’s president Erdogan blames the West for the events, calling Israel an occupier and defending Hamas, stating it is not a terrorist organization. All the while, Qatar has taken on the self-appointed role of a mediator, talking to Hamas and Israel officials behind the scenes and trying to draw them to the negotiation table.

The human cost

In a mere three weeks, the death toll of the conflict has risen to 1,400 Israelis and 8,000 Palestinians, reaching unprecedented proportions in the decades-long Israeli-Palestinian violence. Over 2 million people are stuck in Gaza under continuous Israeli bombardment, with communications black-out on Friday and depleting energy and food resources. A humanitarian corridor that Israel allowed to open delivered only 33 trucks of food and medicine that are utterly insufficient to alleviate the suffering of the civilians caught in Gaza. The situations is leading people to desperation as they start looting warehouses and stores among warnings by the UN of a break-down of civil order.

Growing critiques of Israel

Erdogan is not the only one to criticize Israel. EU’s top diplomat Josep Borel accused Israel of acting against international law because of its siege on Gaza and the civilian suffering. The growing suffering of the population in Gaza has spurred pro-Palestinian rallies across the world. Although it is clear that Hamas is using civilians as a shield and a negotiating chip, Israel’s actions in Gaza, including the start of ground operations, are drawing warnings and growing critiques even by loyal allies as the U.S. In the meantime, Netanyahu is under fire including by his own ministers for a post blaming Israeli intelligence for failing to foresee the attack. Such criticisms come amid growing pressure by families to take actions to release the hostages. Though few would question Israel’s right to defend itself and respond to the brutal attack, more and more people are concerned about the fate of the civilians in Gaza.

A way out?

With each day of the conflict, a two-state solution is becoming less and less likely. At the same time, the humanitarian crisis requires urgent action. The first step in any potential peace negotiations is, of course, a seize fire and delivery of adequate humanitarian aid. Lasting agreements are difficult to imagine at the moment, but even if we did imagine them, stable outcomes are anything but certain. If we look at one “success story”, namely Bosnia, we see how difficult it is to sustain two or three-state solutions even when all the key players are on board. In this case we have two sides, Israel and Hamas – each set on annihilating the other with millions of civilians caught in between and various belligerent actors on the sidelines ready to act, in a “just war” that has no prospect of bringing justice or peace.