Mob attacks, rioting erupt as Israel-Gaza violence escalates

It’s an unprecedented twist in an endless war, as internal feuding on both sides fuels new surge of violence between Israelis and Palestinians

Israelis and Palestinians have renewed their Hundred Years War without end.

But the beginnings of this latest conflict are utterly unlike those that came before it. So too is the endgame.

More than a fight between two external foes, this latest Middle East fight is fuelled by bitter feuds among internal rivals: This is not merely Israelis against Palestinians, it is also Israelis fighting Israelis, and Palestinians versus Palestinians.

As long as these domestic political battles divide each camp, there will be no peace in Gaza or the West Bank, nor in Israel. The relentless military escalation — missiles launched first by Hamas and Islamic Jihad (at least seven Israeli dead so far), triggering Israeli counterattacks in Gaza (more than 65 Palestinians killed) — will claim many more lives on both sides until the political calculus changes.

Hamas understands it will barely be held to account for violating the rules of war by deliberately targeting civilians — as of Wednesday, more than 1,000 rockets and missiles were fired at cities with no military targets in sight. But it has also changed the rules of the game as seen from Gaza — forcing Israelis in nearby cities such as Ashkelon and Ashdod to hide in bomb shelters; hitting Jerusalem and Tel Aviv; and prompting foreign airlines to cancel flights into the country’s only international airport.

Israel’s response, judging from its latest public threats and past incursions, is destined to be increasingly deadly — but not decisive. It boasted Wednesday of killing at least 10 commanders from the military wing of Hamas (who typically shelter among civilians), but widespread casualties among innocents are inevitable when jet fighters lob bombs into the most densely populated place on Earth.

Never mind last year’s lofty rhetoric about a realigned Middle East, when Gulf countries exchanged diplomatic recognition with Israel — all are now squirming privately and protesting publicly.

The mistaken premise that Palestinian aspirations and Israeli occupation could be left for another day was a false promise from a forgotten prophet.

What makes this undeclared war so unprecedented is that neither side can claim an electoral mandate from its own citizens. Israelis and Palestinians are now ruled by rival caretaker governments that dream of victories achieved militarily, not won electorally.

In this battle of wits, in this war of politics, Hamas has gained the upper hand so far — despite being outgunned on the battlefront. Israel is on its heels, outmanoeuvred despite its superior firepower because it is fighting a daunting rearguard action on the home front.

This time, it is not just Palestinians under military occupation across the West Bank rising up, but Palestinian citizens of Israel — formerly called Israeli Arabs — who are raising their voices and their fists in protest: Lod, Acre, Tiberias, Jaffa and other Israeli cities have erupted in strife, with mob violence pitting citizens against citizens.

Internal dissension has long been Israel’s Achilles heel, whether among Jews divided along denominational lines, or Palestinian citizens who experience discrimination within Israel’s borders and witness occupation in the West Bank and Gaza. Domestic dissension and ethnic tension can be challenging for any government at the best of times.

In times of war, a country might form a government of national unity with a war cabinet. Not rely on a caretaker cabinet.

Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu, unable to cobble together a coalition government, is at the helm of Israel’s caretaker administration. Opposed by his critics in parliament, prosecuted by his own attorney general in court, he keeps trying to outrun corruption charges by concocting a form of parliamentary immunity.

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, unable to rely on declining voter support in his West Bank power base, abruptly cancelled upcoming elections — the first since 2005. His long-standing Hamas rivals, who rule Gaza with an Islamist iron fist (after a civil war with the PA of Abbas) sensed an opportunity to overcome their own unpopularity after years of Israeli blockades.

Against that backdrop, desperate to forge a coalition government with right wing parties, Netanyahu played footsie with Israeli religious groups. By indulging rightist settlers trying to evict Palestinians from East Jerusalem, by initially permitting triumphal religious activists to march in celebration of military conquest, by permitting a police action at the revered Al-Aqsa Mosque in the Old City during the holy month of Ramadan — Israel played into the hands of Hamas.

When I interviewed Netanyahu years ago in the prime minister’s office, he was as defiant then as he is reckless now. His insistence that the shabab (Arab youth) would be subdued by Israel’s iron fist always felt feeble when I was on assignment in Gaza, and it has not stood the test of time.

Over the years, there has been no shortage of blame on both sides of the divide — a succession of Israeli and Palestinian leaders with strong democratic mandates unwilling to make hard compromises to take a chance on peace, for fear of losing power. They reflected, in their vacillating, a hardening of attitudes among both Palestinian and Israeli voters amid military incursions and acts of terrorism.

Both sides fantasize about maximalist positions — perpetual occupation or perennial resistance — instead of coexistence and compromise. But the fantasy that occupation is extendable and security is sustainable is a uniquely Israeli conceit, indulged and encouraged by the U.S. under expresident Donald Trump when he defiantly moved the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem, Israel’s disputed capital.

Without statesmanlike leaders in power, backed by strong electoral mandates, this conflict is as unpredictable as it is unprecedented. The idea that peace and stability in the Middle East could proceed without the Palestinians looks especially hollow at a time when neighbouring powers are on the critical list: Jordan faces internal political dissension, Saudi Arabia is on the defensive and Egypt is in retreat.

Even the global peril of COVID-19 has failed to put a damper on this power struggle. While Israel is among the most vaccinated countries in the world, Gaza and the West Bank have been left to fend for themselves in the hunt for vaccines. A hospital system already at the brink is about to be pushed over the edge.

In a war without end, there are no new beginnings. Just new iterations and added complications.

Israelis and Palestinians are ruled by rival caretaker governments that dream of victories achieved militarily, not won electorally