War & Conflict Archive

TEL AVIV, Israel — In a recent post aptly entitled “Bringing the Negotiating Table to Hamas,” Judah tempered his critical view of Israeli policies with the acknowledgement that he was writing “from the comfort of a Paris apartment, beyond missile range from Gaza.” Indeed, things look quite different from where I live, which is just on the outskirts of Tel Aviv-Yaffo — and just on the edge of the area threatened by missiles from Gaza. When I look south from my balcony, I can see Ashdod, which has already been struck by missiles with deadly consequences. This goes to illustrate […]

Much of the commentary surrounding the current Israel-Hamas war has been addressed to the question of whether Israel has any hope of achieving its goals militarily, given that Hamas, like Hezbollah in the 2006 Israel-Hezbollah war, is a non-state actor that does not fight conventionally and is therefore difficult to defeat with conventional military means. Israel’s Goals: Short-Term vs. Long-Term When addressing this question, it’s important to be clear about what Israel’s goals are in this current operation. Israel’s short-term military objectives need to be distinguished from the long-term objective of security for the state of Israel, which ultimately means […]

In the coming days or perhaps weeks, the current war between Israel and Hamas will come to an end. More precisely, this new chapter in the conflict will reach its conclusion. When that happens, a third party will have played a key mediating role and, in the process, will have raised its diplomatic profile. While the United States is the most likely candidate to broker the final ceasefire, should another country or organization become the pivotal mediator, it could walk away with a big diplomatic prize, emerging from the process with renewed prestige and international influence. But if glory awaits […]