Israel and Palestine: How peace is possible
A peace process can go wrong in many ways, but a real possibility exists that it could go right

IF YOU WANT to understand how desperately Israelis and Palestinians need peace, consider what would become of them in a state of perpetual war. Against a vastly superior Israeli army, the Palestinians’ most powerful weapon would remain the death and suffering of their own people. Israel’s fate would be woeful, too, if it wants to be a flourishing, modern democracy. If Israel permanently relies on its army to subjugate the Palestinians, it would become an apartheid-enforcing pariah. Israelis carrying out daily acts of oppression punctuated by rounds of killing would themselves be corrupted. For two peoples locked in a violent embrace, peace is the only deliverance.
Explore more
This article appeared in the Leaders section of the print edition under the headline “How peace is possible”
Leaders December 9th 2023
- How to stop over-medicalising mental health
- Israel and Palestine: How peace is possible
- A messy contest is coming to a head behind Donald Trump
- Bashing hedge funds that trade Treasuries could cost taxpayers money
- Green protectionism will slow the energy transition
- Covid-19 was a disaster for the world’s schoolchildren
More from Leaders

How to respond to the riots on Britain’s streets
The violence demands robust policing, but it also requires cool heads

Is the big state back in Britain?
The risk is not too much interventionism, but too little audacity

How to make tourism work for locals and visitors alike
Holidays don’t have to be hell
Genomic medicines can cost $3m a dose. How to make them affordable
The treatments are marvels of innovation. Their pricing must be inventive, too
Chinese companies are winning the global south
Their expansion abroad holds important lessons for Western incumbents
The Middle East must step back from the brink
That still means starting with a ceasefire in Gaza