How will the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians, with this Gaza war the third in 6 years and unlikely to be the last, ever end? US support for Israel has always been seen as unquestioning and unconditional (except, interestingly, during the reign of George W. Bush), but that is now under greater strain than ever before.

It rested however on certain key principles which are now beginning to fray badly. One was a shared belief in the two-state solution to which hitherto Israeli leaders have always paid lip service and some like Yitzhak Rabin genuinely believed in. Another was the legendary power of the Jewish lobby in Washington in corralling US public opinion to the side of Israel at any time of crisis. Both are wearing thin. Continue reading →