LJUBLJANA, Slovenia ¨C The title of this commentary, a twist on the title of Erich Maria Remarque¡¯s famous 1929 novel about everyday life in the trenches of World War I, seems fitting for the first anniversary of Hamas¡¯s Oct. 7 attack on Israel.
While the media covers each new and surprising development ¡ª the killing of Hamas¡¯s leader, Ismail Haniyeh and Hezbollah¡¯s leader, Hassan Nasrallah; Israel¡¯s attacks in southern Lebanon; Iran¡¯s ballistic-missile strikes on Israel ¡ª the fact is that things are becoming what they always were. Potentialities that were present from the beginning are being realized.
From a broader historical and philosophical perspective, Israel¡¯s critics miss the point when they claim that it is failing in its mission to destroy Hamas and is merely killing Palestinians and razing Gaza. Recall Israel¡¯s strategy before Oct. 7. For years, it ensured that foreign financing reached Hamas in order to keep the Palestinians divided, thus preventing any progress toward a two-state solution.
With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.