’Next time we will win!’: Gaza’s cycles of violence

In this article - originally published on CRIAViews, the blog of the Cambridge Review of International Affairs - Lucy Thirkell explores some of the reasons behind the tragic and seemingly endless cycle of conflict in Gaza. This situation is self-sustaining, doomed to repeat itself over and over - Lucy Thirkell In February 2013, the ArcMed Hotel in Gaza City hosted a conference entitled,  'War on Gaza: consequences and future prospects'. The conference, arranged by leading Gazan think tanks and civil society organizations, with sponsorship by local media groups, featured speakers from among Gaza's intellectuals, policymakers (including Hamas politicians), students and some international voices. Gaza had recently dusted itself off after 2012's 'Operation Pillar of Cloud' and wanted to take stock. The very premise of the conference took for granted that war would come to Gaza again. 'Pillar of Cloud' was designed to 'dismantle the capabilities of Hamas to wage violence upon Israel'. This it did not do.