A Lasting Truce Between Israel and Palestine? We have Heard That Before – The Result Was Increased Violence

So, which year do we find ourselves? A US president, subsequent to lengthy of tacit encouragement, has finally intervened to halt an Israeli military offensive that has transformed swaths of a Middle Eastern city to ruins, leaving thousands killed and sparking global outrage.

This military action has followed a series of attacks on Israel. Currently, facing demands from the White House, the prime minister of Israel, a rightwinger with an aptitude for popular speech and a strong feeling of historical Jewish national duty, has approved a truce.

Past Echoes

The time period is not present day, but the early 1980s. The urban center is not present-day Gaza, but Beirut. The US leader is Ronald Reagan, not today's leadership.

Exist many differences between what happened in Lebanon over four in the past and current circumstances in Palestinian territories in the last 24 months. The October attack of recent times, which killed over a thousand and included numerous captured, differs significantly with the comparatively limited efforts of the Palestine Liberation Organization in the year or so before Israel's invasion of Lebanon.

Uncanny Similarities

Some are uncanny. The US leader eventually contacted the counterpart, stating to him that events in Beirut was "a holocaust" and indicating the diplomatic ties between their states could be significantly impaired if the conflict carried on.

During that period, much as today, the war played out in real time on global media. Numerous correspondents entered the city to cover for the first time an Arab–Israeli war without information control by the combatants.

Results and Outcomes

What happened following the conversation from American leadership and the ceasefire in Beirut is educational. The Palestinian organization, its divisions and officials were scattered across thousands of miles and a dozen countries.

Washington then removed international forces – an infringement of the arrangement with PLO leadership. The Lebanese president, the country's freshly appointed leader and Israel's preferred proxy, was assassinated by Damascus operatives.

Regional Transformation

The same was true across the rest of the region. By the late seventies, the increasingly non-religious and forward-thinking concepts that had seemed to offer the potential of a new future in the Arab and Islamic worlds previously were discredited.

The outcomes of this became very clear, in short order

Across the region, the Israeli state and the US now faced opponents who were much more stubborn, dangerous and capable than the progressive groups and independence advocates of earlier years.

International Reaction

Internationally, the results of this were unexpected. Throughout the 1970s, global observers and officials had attempted to comprehend what generated militant radicalism.

Subsequently, in the beginning of that decade, this ceased. National figures in the US, the United Kingdom and elsewhere were ceased being concerned in "fundamental sources" of conflict.

Modern Parallels

Recently, accounts show that today's officials communicated to government representatives that Israel could not oppose international consensus and admitted territorial ambitions for a state.

This too was an echo of historical precedent. In the consequence of the military incursion of the neighboring country, earlier administration told the Israeli government that the power of its armed forces alone could not "achieve permanent resolution" and recognized "proper claims of the Arab residents."

However a internationally-backed regional peace plan meant to address those concerns stalled completely. Overseas, Palestinian leadership observed helplessly.

Worldwide concern in the Middle East diminished. Israel rejected accommodations. Subsequently, there was the major unrest, and the founding of additional militant groups.

• The repetitions of previous events provide serious lessons for current peace efforts
• Permanent settlements require addressing fundamental problems rather than temporary ceasefires
• Local circumstances continue to evolve in multifaceted and sometimes unexpected ways