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A year of Middle East conflict - the price civilians have paid

Posted by: The Conversation

Date: Tuesday, 08 October 2024

A year ago Israel suffered a brutal assault at the hands of Hamas gunmen. The consequences are still unfolding. The initial Israeli government response – a retaliatory bombardment and siege of the Gaza Strip – has morphed into a wider conflict that now sees fighting in Lebanon and has drawn in other regional players, notably Iran.

Our articles to mark the anniversary of the Oct. 7 attack focus on what a year of conflict has meant to the civilians caught up in the violence. Migration scholars Nick Micinski of the University of Maine and Kelsey Norman of Rice University provide a snapshot of the massive displacement across the Middle East. In all, more than 3 million people have been uprooted over the past 12 months. Israelis in the north have left homes threatened by Hezbollah rockets, while Lebanese families have fled the south and major cities to avoid Israeli missiles (many have even crossed over into civil war-torn Syria). And then there are the nearly 2 million Palestinians in Gaza, many of whom have been displaced multiple times as they try to find safety while trapped in the enclave.

Maha Nassar writes about another plight of Palestinians: democratic representation. A year of conflict has seen the already dwindling support that the main Palestinian parties – the Fatah-led Palestinian Authority and Hamas – had ebb away further, creating major barriers to any postwar governance plans. What is clear is that Palestinians are crying out for better options and a direct say on who represents them through means of a national election – something a generation of Palestinians have never known.

Meanwhile, Shai Ginsburg, a scholar of Israeli history and politics, looks at how the plight of hostages taken on Oct. 7 has bled into the polarization of Israeli society. In the initial shock of that attack, some hoped that a prevailing sense of national unity might replace the bitter preexisting societal and political divides. Instead, the yearlong campaign by families of those taken – and even how the hostages are being remembered today – has become a symbol of the deep fissures that still exist in Israel.

Matt Williams

Senior International Editor

A year of escalating conflict in the Middle East has ushered in a new era of regional displacement

Nicholas R. Micinski, University of Maine; Kelsey Norman, Rice University

A year on from the Hamas attacks and Israel’s continued bombardment of Gaza, new fronts of fighting are creating another generation of displaced people across the region.

Palestinians want to choose their own leaders – a year of war has distanced them further from this democratic goal

Maha Nassar, University of Arizona

Despite a recent push to reconcile Palestinian political parties and work toward elections, Palestinians are no nearer to democratic representation.

A year of devastation: with hope and trust shattered, what can bring an end to the violence in Israel-Palestine?

Eyal Mayroz, University of Sydney

The world needs to stop taking sides. A solution involves reconciling both parties’ objectives – a ceasefire in Gaza, self-determination for Palestinians, and safety and security for Israelis.

A year ago, the hostages were a rallying point for solidarity in Israel – now, their families are symbols of the country’s sharp divides

Shai P. Ginsburg, Duke University

Once a source of unity, anguish over the hostages is now one more source of sharp divides in Israeli politics.

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