The Gaza war’s rabbit hole

In a recent discussion about the ongoing Gaza conflict and the events unfolding in the devastated Strip, a curious metaphor caught my attention. My conversation partner, a Palestinian engineer long settled in the West, suggested that all parties to the war had fallen down a rabbit hole. When he noticed my puzzled silence, he referenced “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland” and its famous opening chapter, “Down the Rabbit-Hole.”

I told him that, although I had read Lewis Carroll’s masterpiece in my youth, I had naturally forgotten the specific chapter title and could not quite see how it related to the tragic situation in Gaza. Graciously, he explained how this phrase had taken on new meaning over time, spreading far beyond its literary origins. Intrigued, I delved deeper into the modern usage of the term. Further research revealed how this literary reference had evolved into a widely used metaphor describing situations where people become entangled in increasingly complex and confusing circumstances — much like the current state of the Gaza conflict.

The metaphor proves remarkably apt. All key players find themselves trapped in this proverbial rabbit hole: Benjamin Netanyahu’s government, Hamas and its primary ally Iran, other Israeli political factions, the Palestinian Authority and various Palestinian groups, along with interested international parties. Each party attempts to navigate an increasingly maze-like situation with no clear exit in sight.

After more than a year of what has become Israel’s longest military engagement since its founding, a crucial question emerges: Has finding even a temporary solution to stop the bloodshed and civilian suffering become truly impossible?

The answer is no, reaching an interim solution is not impossible in itself. Rather, it is the intransigence of the primary belligerents — Netanyahu’s government and Hamas’ leadership, particularly its field commanders in Gaza — that has made it appear so.

However, this raises another critical question: Should the international community place equal responsibility on both the Israeli government and Hamas for prolonging this conflict? Again, the answer is no. This is not an emotional judgment but one echoed by hundreds, if not thousands, of journalists and politicians worldwide from across the political spectrum.

Each party attempts to navigate an increasingly maze-like situation with no clear exit in sight.

Bakir Oweida

Their reasoning is straightforward: Israel, as an internationally recognized state, bears a different level of responsibility. Its military actions, which have often violated international norms and laws, must be held to a higher standard. Had its political leaders acted more rationally, they might have avoided trapping their nation in this rabbit hole.

Is it too late for rationality to prevail? The classic adage holds true: where there is a will, there is a way.

• Bakir Oweida is a Palestinian journalist who pursued a professional career in journalism in Libya in 1968, where he worked at Al-Haqiqa newspaper in Benghazi, then Al-Balagh and Al-Jihad in Tripoli. He has written for several Arab publications in Britain since 1978. He worked at Al-Arab newspaper, Al-Thadamun magazine and the international Arabic newspaper Asharq Al-Awsat. He has also worked as a consultant at the online newspaper Elaph. This article first appeared in Asharq Al-Awsat.