Saving Gaza Means Pressing Iran as Well as Israel

The gulf between how Israel and much of the world thinks about events in Gaza is growing, and with it the risk of regional escalation. The nature of that disconnect needs to be better understood, and soon, to reduce the threat of a disastrous wider war with Iran.

International attention continues to focus on Palestinian suffering, seen now through the prism of the International Court of Justice in The Hague, where South Africa has accused the Jewish state of genocide. Many in the Middle East and West take Israel’s guilt as a given. For them, after decades spent illegally occupying Palestinian lands, Israel is the problem and the solution is self-evident: The Israel Defense Forces need to stop shooting and leave Gaza.

Within Israel, though, the ICJ case is seen by most as a calumny that only proves antisemitism’s enduring nature. Where, after all, is the case against Hamas, a group committed in its charter to Israel’s destruction? Did it drop leaflets warning people to move to safety before starting its meticulously planned rampage of murder and rape last October? No. It clearly sought to kill as many Jews as it could in the few hours it had.