If this is Israel’s 9/11, it must not fall into the Osama bin Laden trap

Israel’s retaliation against Gaza runs the risk of triggering an unwinnable clash of cultures – and precisely the kind of epoch-making ‘West vs Islam’ conflict that Osama bin Laden dreamed of, writes Sean O’Grady

George W Bush receives news of a second attack on New York’s Twin Towers on September 11, 2001 (AFP via Getty Images)

It’s been called Israel’s 9/11, and it’s clear to see why. An unprecedented invasion of Israeli territory by Hamas, the murder of the most Jewish people on a single day since the Holocaust, the failure of the intelligence services and defence force to protect the people against terrorists with improvised weaponry…

Yet if Israel is to survive, prosper and live in security, as its friends would wish for it, its leaders cannot afford to fall into the same cynical traps that were laid for the United States by Osama bin Laden and al-Qaeda back in 2001.

Israel must not simply lash out in revenge; it must remain within the rules of war and international conventions on the treatment of civilians; and it must ensure that, heinous and barbaric as these assaults have been, its response is decisive but still proportionate. Israel needs not only to win this war – but also to retain the moral high ground and the support of its allies.