Hamas Vs Israel, Any End in Sight?

For decades the State of Israel and arakat al-Muqwamah al-Islmiyyah, more
commonly known as amas, have fought each other for the future of the oly Land. Their fight evolved
from a group fighting from the shadows with suicide bombings, to fighting from a pseudo-state with
missiles and jets. Despite decades of fighting and thousands of lives lost there seems to end in sight.
Neither side can claim it is winning. From the side of amas they have experienced four devastating wars
against Israel which have resulted in most of Gazas infrastructure being damaged or destroyed and the
blockade of the coastal strip has not abated. From the Israeli side, their image in the world has been
severely damaged which has led to economic disinvestments and boycotts and has pushed away groups
which the West deems moderate away from the negotiating table. From this on-going situation come two
questions, why does this conflict continue and what can be done to create a lasting and stable peace?
In response to the first question it is actually four components that keep this conflict alive; the
overall Palestinian-Israeli Conflict, the blockade of the Gaza Strip, amass missile arsenal, and finally
the fact that most of the international community shuns amas. The situation is furthered worsened by the
fact that current Israeli government is run by hardliners, who call for discrimination against Arabs and
have shown little interest in making peace with the Palestinians. The key to peace is simple, rectify these
four problems and peace will ensue, a fact that the current Israeli government seems to ignore.
As for the first issue, amas grew from the decades of Israeli occupation and in its charter it calls
for the liberation of Palestine from the Zionist invaders through armed struggle. Though various
Palestinian groups have different methods and ideologies, most want to see the creation of an independent
Palestine, with the pre-1967 borders being the minimal they will accept. In the past amas rejected this
two-state solution, saying that the fight will never be over until all of Palestine is free. owever today
amas has shown willingness to accept a two-state solution and has even offered a long term truce with
Israel based on several conditions. These conditions include: a return to the pre-1967 borders, the right of
return for Palestinian refugees, an end to the Jewish settlements, and an end to the blockade. owever the
right-wing government of Israel has done little to make gestures of peace towards the Palestinians.
Though Jewish settlements are considered illegal by the international community, Israel has continued to
build and expands them. The main reason that the Palestinians walked out of negotiations with Israel was
that hard-line Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu refused to halt settlement expansion and instead gave
permission for expansion to continue at an alarming rate. Even Israels top ally, the United States has
criticized Israel over its settlement activities. In March of 2010, during a visit by American Vice
President, Joe Biden, Israel unveiled plans for more settlements in East Jerusalem, which the international
community deems occupied territory, causing outrage from the administration of President Obama. Many
saw the timing as Israel telling America, the world, and the Palestinians, We can do what we want, when
we want.
The Israeli occupation of the Palestinian Territories