Anyone who has voiced opposition to what the government of Israel is currently doing in Gaza has undoubtedly heard the various ways Israel’s defenders excuse, dismiss, and justify Israel’s actions. Sometimes you’ll hear that the Israel Defense Force (IDF) is doing everything in its power—more than any other military in history—to avoid hurting civilians and that Hamas is responsible for any innocents who get killed because they are using them as human shields. Other times you’ll be told that...

Alon Pinkas, a former senior Israeli diplomat (well plugged in at the White House), says aloud the “reality” about Israel which he underlines cannot be hidden further: [There are now] two [Jewish] states – with contrasting visions of what the nation should be. There is an elephant in the Israeli room – and 'no': it’s not occupation, though that is its main cause.The elephant in the room is Israel gradually but inexorably being divided [into a high-tech, secular, liberal state] … and...

The core issues at the heart of release of hostages held in Gaza were two: A complete cessation to the war and full withdrawal of all Israeli forces. Netanyahu’s position was that whatever the hostage outcome, the IDF would return to Gaza and that the war there might continue for ten years, he said. These were the most sensitive words in Israeli politics – with Israeli politics electrically polarised around them. The continuation or fall of the Israeli government could hinge on them: The Right...