Israel had been trying to promote itself as a holiday destination like any other – now it’s back to square one

As many developed countries are becoming more ethnically mixed and more secular, so, it seems, Israel is trying to buck the trend. That is not going to make life any easier, writes Mary Dejevsky

Why oh why does Israel do this to itself, is there really not another way? (AP)

For the first time in two weeks of bombardments, there is a ceasefire in the fighting between Israel and the Palestinians of Gaza. Egypt helped to broker the agreement, with the United States offering muted encouragement from afar. But a ceasefire, while sparing further casualties for a while, is not going to change – let alone solve – anything. Disputed territory and the huge imbalance of forces ensure there will be no lasting peace, let alone stability, on current terms.

And while the human and material losses have been disproportionately suffered, as ever in this conflict, by Palestinians – with more than 200 people killed compared with 12 Israelis, vastly more people injured and massively more infrastructure damaged – the past two weeks have left Israel once again the moral loser.

At a time when it was featuring in the international news as a world leader in combatting the pandemic and trying to promote itself again as a beach holiday destination like any other, it is now back to square one. The image of Israel is as the aggressor: the bully, the killer of women and children.