Israel, Gaza, and the Potential for a Diplomatic Resolution to the Violence

We are witnessing an explosion of violence in Israel and Palestine. The Israeli army commenced a military operation against Gaza on July 8, with air and naval bombardments. Meanwhile, the military wing of Hamas has claimed responsibility for dozens of rockets launched from Gaza at Israeli civilian population centers all over the country, including Jerusalem and Tel Aviv.

The military confrontation was preceded by a horrific series of events that began with the abduction and murder of three teenage Jewish boys in the West Bank, whose bodies were discovered after a three-week manhunt that was the leading news story in the country. The funeral of the three boys was followed by racist demonstrations against Arabs in Jerusalem and other places around Israel. Then came the abduction and murder by immolation of a Palestinian boy in East Jerusalem, followed by violent confrontations between Palestinians and Israeli paramilitary forces in East Jerusalem and in the Galilee region of northern Israel.

Is there a connection between the ongoing political violence and the failure of the Kerry Initiative? What chance is there for a ceasefire between Gaza and Israel in the near future?

New America and the Foundation for Middle East Peace hosted a discussion to examine the context and possible near term consequences of current events in Israel and Palestine.

Featuring Naomi Paiss, Vice President of Public Affairs for the New Israel Fund; Lisa Goldman, Director of the Israel-Palestine Initiative at New America; Noura Erakat, Human rights attorney and activist; Matthew Duss, Incoming president of the Foundation for Middle East Peace; and, Sarah Wildman, Writer on the intersection of culture and politics, history and memory in Europe, the Near East and America.