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Gaza Fighting Makes Peace Prospects Less Likely

[USA Today] Jim Michaels - The fighting in Gaza likely made Israeli-Palestinian reconciliation even more distant than before, analysts say. "There's no doubt that Obama is committed to doing something...but I think that, after Gaza, a full-fledged peace process between Israelis and Palestinians just isn't likely in the near term," said Yossi Alpher, a former defense adviser to Israel. "Obama will probably have to focus more on conflict management, on trying to ensure hostilities don't break out again." Martin van Creveld, a former professor at Hebrew University, said, "There was a time ten years ago when I had great hopes for the peace process. No longer." He calls the Gaza war a "success" because it stopped Hamas' rocket fire - and he says it's just the latest example of Israel "hitting its neighbors over the head" to demonstrate its military power. Israel's use of force was effective enough to intimidate its foes and ensure that a relative calm followed. "That's not peace, but at least it's the absence of bloodshed," van Creveld says. "And in my mind, that's a hell of a lot."
2009-01-23 06:00:00
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