The complete idiot’s guide to Mideast peace – part 223

Rocket hits Sderot home after Hamas ends truce, IDF strikes targets across Gaza | The Times of Israel http  ‘Egypt urges new ceasefire, says progress made; 1 killed in military strikes, 40 rockets fired at Israel since 8 a.m; PM orders ‘forceful’ response; Israeli negotiators leave Cairo talks after Israel says it won’t negotiate under fire.’

Well, what now? Does this mean a return to the same old grind we’ve all seen so many times in the past? Yet more death and destruction, more graves to dig, no let-up in the conflict except for one or two brief interludes that come and go, nothing of real substance to report nor anything that achieves final closure in this matter?

Let’s pause for a moment and look at things in an entirely different way.

New articles of War (1): Palestinians are quite within their rights to fire off rockets and suchlike into Israeli territory, to invade it by whatever means necessary and may continue to do all this right up until ‘the end of days.’

New articles of War (2): Israelis are also allowed to respond in much the same manner; they can be assured of total legitimacy in all their attacks on Palestinian townships, cities and urban areas by land, air and sea.

And the rest of the world will stand idly by, confident in the knowledge that neither side is guilty of any wrongdoing or serious lack of judgement.

A somewhat far-fetched scenario, of course, but could the net result be very much worse than that which now obtains in the present climate?

But what would be the benefit of so cavalier an attitude, the suspension of all morality and self-doubt in an area of such concern to humanity?

Well, it might just clear away the fog of moral and mental confusion that has always attached itself to this business from the very start. It might even concentrate minds that have become endlessly trapped in the apportioning of blame to one side or the other and tax them with finding other ways of dealing with so convoluted a subject.

www.laxiankey.com  – ‘ for those of us with better things to do.’