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Preventing war is crucial

Rainer Sollich / ewJuly 1, 2014

Israel has vowed retribution for the murder of three Israeli teenagers near Hebron. And while the anger felt in the country is justifiable, a war with Palestine should be avoided at all costs, writes DW's Rainer Sollich.

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Trauerfeier für entführte Studenten in Israel
Image: Jack Guez/AFP/Getty Images

A militant response is already happening on a verbal level. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has referred to the killers of the three Israeli teenagers and their supporters as "beasts" and "human animals." He has also warned of retaliation. Meanwhile, Palestinian Islamist organization Hamas has stated that Israel would "open the gates of hell" if it conducted any reprisal attacks.

Deutsche Welle Rainer Sollich Arabische Redaktion
Rainer Sollich heads DW's Arabic serviceImage: DW/P. Henriksen

The "gates of hell" already seem to have opened, however, and further escalation is nearly unavoidable. Hardly anyone believes that Israel will stop at the targeted killing of a Hamas member and the airstrikes on 34 targets in the Gaza Strip it carried out in the night from June 30 to July 1. The call for revenge is simply too loud, especially in Netanyahu's old-established constituencies. And the ones calling out will not be satisfied with symbolic reactions. Even if Netanyahu wants to hold back, the pressure from the Israeli people is simply too great.

No excuses for murder

The pressure and outrage on the Israeli side are understandable. The murder of three innocent people - teenagers and civilians - is an abhorrent crime that cannot be justified. Neither Israel's aggressive settlement policy nor its human rights breeches with regards to Palestinians can be used as a moral rationale.

It is and will remain an abominable act, most likely carried out by Palestinian hardliners with the goal of keeping the decades-old conflict between Israelis and Palestinians alive. However, it must be noted that Hamas, despite its hateful rhetoric, denies any connection with the murders and Israel also hasn't delivered any evidence yet.

We may never know for sure who was behind the killings. And nobody will bother asking anymore as soon as Israeli military attacks in Gaza claim more civilian lives and Palestinian missiles hit Israeli towns once again. The escalation spiral is fueled by hate, suffering and injustice, also on the Palestinian side, where the standard of living is significantly lower. And although Israel cannot be blamed for all of this, it has a fair share of responsibility.

Danger of large-scale conflict

There should not be any collective punishment of the Palestinian civilian population in Gaza - but this is exactly what could happen if Europe and especially the US don't manage to exercise a moderating influence on Netanyahu's retaliation plans.

That's because, apart from retaliation, Netanyahu has another motive: showing the global community that Israel can never cooperate with the Palestinian unity government, with represents not only Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and his Fatah movement, but also Hamas Islamists.

The international community must keep its focus on other, greater interests. As difficult as it would be, it would be very helpful if Israel and the Palestinian authorities could bring themselves to work together on investigating the murders, as suggested by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon.

A new war must be prevented, as it would not only mean once again succumbing to the agenda of peace opponents but also exacerbating the chaos in the entire region, which is already unstable due to the critical situation in Iraq, Syria and other countries.