Moderate Arab states need Israel to succeed

Pity the international diplomats. Hardly back from their Christmas break, they were plunged into yet another dizzying round of declamations and démarches over a fresh bout of Israeli misbehaviour, this time in Gaza. By midweek, diplomacy had achieved a partial success when Israel agreed to a daily pause for the distribution of humanitarian supplies. But it was not yet ready to end the war-fighting.

Crocodiles apart, few would have shed tears for Hamas. All the parties understand that the outcome of the conflict could reverberate far beyond Gaza, with implications for the stability of the entire region.

No one, of course, enjoyed seeing chunks of the Gaza Strip reduced to rubble or Palestinian civilians killed and injured, as in Tuesday’s tragically unintended strike on the al-Fakhura school in the Jabaliya refugee camp. At the same time, few would have been discomfited at the spectre of Hamas taking a hammering. For domestic consumption, Arab leaders hedged their rhetorical bets, condemning Israel for the attack while blaming Hamas for initiating the crisis.