Israel-Gaza Conflict: The Elusive Search for a Ceasefire

{
  "authors": [
    "Yezid Sayigh"
  ],
  "type": "legacyinthemedia",
  "centerAffiliationAll": "dc",
  "centers": [
    "Carnegie Endowment for International Peace",
    "Malcolm H. Kerr Carnegie Middle East Center"
  ],
  "collections": [],
  "englishNewsletterAll": "menaTransitions",
  "nonEnglishNewsletterAll": "",
  "primaryCenter": "Malcolm H. Kerr Carnegie Middle East Center",
  "programAffiliation": "MEP",
  "programs": [
    "Middle East"
  ],
  "projects": [],
  "regions": [
    "Levant",
    "Israel",
    "Palestine",
    "Middle East"
  ],
  "topics": [
    "Political Reform",
    "Security",
    "Foreign Policy"
  ]
}

In The Media

Malcolm H. Kerr Carnegie Middle East Center

Israel-Gaza Conflict: The Elusive Search for a Ceasefire

Israel and Hamas have found themselves sucked into a conflict that neither side really wanted and that outside powers seem reluctant or unable to stop.

By Yezid Sayigh

Published on Jul 24, 2014

Source: France 24

ARMEN GEORGIAN: It’s a depressingly familiar pattern. Middle East peace talks collapse and a fresh round of Israeli-Palestinian bloodletting begins. With a grim inevitability, Israel and Hamas found themselves sucked into a conflict that neither side really wanted and that outside powers seems reluctant or impotent to stop. To discuss this situation, I’m pleased to welcome a very distinguished Middle East Analyst. Yezid Sayigh joins me from Beirut. In the early 90s, he was a negotiator in the Palestinian delegation in peace talks with Israel. He’s also an academic who has taught at Cambridge and at King’s College London. Yezid Sayigh has authored numerous books on the Middle East and he’s now senior associate at the Carnegie Middle East Center think tank.

France 24 the Interview’s Armen Georgian spoke with Carnegie’s Yezid Sayigh about why the Israeli-Egyptian blockade of the Gaza Strip is a dead-end strategy, the diplomatic efforts to stop the fighting, and the impact of the Gaza conflict both on Hamas and on the Palestinian Authority.

This interview was broadcasted on France 24’s the Interview.

About the Author

Yezid Sayigh

Senior Fellow, Malcolm H. Kerr Carnegie Middle East Center

Yezid Sayigh is a senior fellow at the Malcolm H. Kerr Carnegie Middle East Center in Beirut, where he leads the program on Civil-Military Relations in Arab States (CMRAS). His work focuses on the comparative political and economic roles of Arab armed forces, the impact of war on states and societies, the politics of postconflict reconstruction and security sector transformation in Arab transitions, and authoritarian resurgence.

Recent Work

Commentary
What Is Israel’s Plan in Lebanon?
- Yezid Sayigh
Commentary
All or Nothing in Gaza
- Yezid Sayigh

Political Reform Security Foreign Policy Levant Israel Palestine Middle East

Carnegie India does not take institutional positions on public policy issues; the views represented herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Carnegie, its staff, or its trustees.

More Work from Carnegie India

Article
India–Africa Strategic Partnership: Challenges, Potential, and Possible Pathways
A partnership between India, a country of subcontinental size, and Africa, a continent of fifty-four countries, may seem asymmetric until one notes that both are home to nearly the same number of people—1.4 billion. This essay spells out the existing challenges to the partnership, its optimal potential, and the possible pathways to realize it over the next quarter-century.
Rajiv Bhatia
Commentary
Emerging From the “Zombie State” of Trade Agreements: The India-EU FTA
The India–EU Free Trade Agreement (FTA) is shaping up to be one of the most consequential trade negotiations, both economically and strategically. But, what’s in the agreement, what’s missing, and what will determine its success in the years ahead
Vrinda Sahai, Nicolas Köhler-Suzuki
Article
India’s Oil Security Strategy: Structural Vulnerabilities and Strategic Choices
This piece argues that the present Indian strategy, based on opportunistic diversification and utilization of limited strategic reserves, remains inadequate when confronting supply disruptions. It evaluates India’s options in the short, medium, and long terms.
Vrinda Sahai
Research
India and a Changing Global Order: Foreign Policy in the Trump 2.0 Era
Trump 2.0 has unsettled India’s external environment—but has not overturned its foreign policy strategy, which continues to rely on diversification, hedging, and calibrated partnerships across a fractured order.
+6
Milan Vaishnav, ed., Sameer Lalwani, Tanvi Madan, …
Commentary
The Impact of U.S. Sanctions and Tariffs on India’s Russian Oil Imports
This piece examines India’s response to U.S. sanctions and tariffs, specifically assessing the immediate market consequences, such as alterations in import costs, and the broader strategic implications for India’s energy security and foreign policy orientation.
Vrinda Sahai

More Work from Carnegie India

Article

India–Africa Strategic Partnership: Challenges, Potential, and Possible Pathways

A partnership between India, a country of subcontinental size, and Africa, a continent of fifty-four countries, may seem asymmetric until one notes that both are home to nearly the same number of people—1.4 billion. This essay spells out the existing challenges to the partnership, its optimal potential, and the possible pathways to realize it over the next quarter-century.

Rajiv Bhatia

Commentary

Emerging From the “Zombie State” of Trade Agreements: The India-EU FTA

The India–EU Free Trade Agreement (FTA) is shaping up to be one of the most consequential trade negotiations, both economically and strategically. But, what’s in the agreement, what’s missing, and what will determine its success in the years ahead

Vrinda Sahai, Nicolas Köhler-Suzuki

Article

India’s Oil Security Strategy: Structural Vulnerabilities and Strategic Choices

This piece argues that the present Indian strategy, based on opportunistic diversification and utilization of limited strategic reserves, remains inadequate when confronting supply disruptions. It evaluates India’s options in the short, medium, and long terms.

Vrinda Sahai

Research

India and a Changing Global Order: Foreign Policy in the Trump 2.0 Era

Trump 2.0 has unsettled India’s external environment—but has not overturned its foreign policy strategy, which continues to rely on diversification, hedging, and calibrated partnerships across a fractured order.

- +6
Milan Vaishnav, ed., Sameer Lalwani, Tanvi Madan, …

Commentary

The Impact of U.S. Sanctions and Tariffs on India’s Russian Oil Imports

This piece examines India’s response to U.S. sanctions and tariffs, specifically assessing the immediate market consequences, such as alterations in import costs, and the broader strategic implications for India’s energy security and foreign policy orientation.

Vrinda Sahai