The Reality of the "Cycle of Violence"

One of the common refrains in discussing the Israeli-Palestinian-Arab conflict is to implore the "cycle of violence", which sees the conflict in morally neutral terms where the parties are primarily responding to each other's military actions.

Israel's military efforts are typically in response to multiple attacks by its enemies, such as its current military campaign in response to months of rockets attacks by Hamas into Israel or the 2006 campaign in Lebanon against Hezbollah after their capture of Israel soldiers.

On the other hand, the terror groups initiate the use of low-intensity military attacks as a core part of their strategy to weaken Israel's resolve. If they didn't launch such attacks, there wouldn't be the frequent military clashes involving Israel and the terror groups.

And we now have the recurring spectacle of the UN and European Union repeating their refrain and seeking a cease-fire, and in the process trying to prevent Israel from inflicting substantial damage on Hamas.

If Europe, the UN, and others really want to stop the "cycle of violence", then they need to let Israel deliver a truly devastating military blow against Hamas. While that won't guarantee peace, it would begin to change the strategic calculation of Hamas, Hezbollah, and their supporters.

From their warped perspective, the ongoing military struggle against Israel is working: Israel pulled out of Lebanon, pulled out of Gaza, and has offered unprecedented concessions on Palestinian statehood - so why stop now? If the terror groups saw that the international community won't come to its defense anymore when Israel responds militarily, it would over time help produce the perspective needed for lasting peace: the desire of the terrorists, Palestinians, and their supporters to genuinely live in peace with Israel.