World

Israel: A tragedy that has been a long time coming

Two Prospect cover stories on the fatal complexity of the Middle East peace process

July 31, 2014
Israeli forces' flares light up the night sky of Gaza City during the conflict earlier this year. © Khalil Hamra/AP/Press Association Images
Israeli forces' flares light up the night sky of Gaza City during the conflict earlier this year. © Khalil Hamra/AP/Press Association Images

Since Israel launched “Operation Protective Edge,” a military assault in response to Hamas rocket attacks on the Jewish state, on July 7, the Gaza strip has descended into total chaos. The death toll is mounting, with Reuters reporting over 1,300 Palestinian deaths and 59 Israeli. Horrific images and descriptions have emerged of the aftermath of attacks; schools and hospitals razed, parents gathering the remains of their children in plastic bags. The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights has accused both Israel and Hamas of committing war crimes. UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon urged an end to the fighting this week: "In the name of humanity, the violence must stop," he said.

This tragic situation has been some time coming, as reflected in the two past Prospect cover stories below. In the first, There may never be peace, a former British ambassador to Israel spells out ten compelling reasons why lasting accord in the region remains unlikely. In the second, from last month's issue, Prospect's editor Bronwen Maddox unpicks the many frustrations and failures of the last few years of the Israeli-Palestine peace process.

There may never be peaceFrom the August 2012 issue of Prospect

Could Israel be drifting towards disaster?From the July 2014 issue of Prospect