This cycle of violence, for so long the backdrop to\u00a0life in Israel, produces much suffering and no resolution. It\u00a0should stop. In the current contest Israel has the upper hand with a military superiority which is overwhelming. Fully backed by public opinion, the government has lost patience with Hamas and intends to pound it into impotence. The trouble is the peace which follows will not last, as an embittered and sullen Palestinian nation plots its revenge. Before long a new cycle of violence will erupt.<\/p>\n
Hamas needs to ask itself where it is headed with its current campaign of rocket attacks. These weapons are all but useless with the iron dome counter-measures protecting Israeli cities, so the only effect is to provoke Israel’s \u00a0massive air strikes, which have killed nearly 200 Palestinians, the majority women and children. \u00a0So far Israel has\u00a0not suffered\u00a0a single fatality from nearly 1000 rockets fired by Hamas.<\/p>\n
Neither side is willing to talk of a cease fire. It may be that Israel will re-occupy the Gaza Strip. Everything will be back to square one. There must be a better way to advance the notion of human relations and peaceful coexistence than this, but\u00a0if there is, it is proving near impossible to find. The world must look harder.<\/p>\n