A World Apart

“In general the decades since the collapse of the Oslo Accords in 1993 have accentuated the psychological gulf. Day-to-day interaction between Israelis and Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza has been drastically reduced by walls and fences in a push for physical separation. Almost forgotten are the Palestine Liberation Organization’s recognition in 1993 of Israel’s right to exist in peace, and Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin’s determination to pursue that peace, a decision that cost him his life in 1995 at the hands of an extreme right-wing Israeli assassin who said he acted ‘on the orders of God.’ These were the ephemeral glimmerings of shared humanity, soon quashed.” Roger Cohen in the NYT (Gift Article): Between Israelis and Palestinians, a Lethal Psychological Chasm Grows. And one of the key factors that endangers the people in the Middle East, and has become an increasingly dangerous trend here in America. “‘The humanity of the other is less acknowledged for the simple reason that human contact has become rare,’ said Yuval Shany, a professor of international law at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Where there is contact, as between Israel’s Jewish and Palestinian populations, some measure of empathy stirs.”

+ Israel’s Military Releases Video It Says Shows Hamas Tunnel at Shifa Hospital, and says CCTV footage shows some hostages being taken into the hospital. Here’s the latest from CNN and BBC.