What Led To The Hamas Attack On Israel — And What Now?

Insights from Daniel Levy, a former Israeli peace negotiator

The crisis in Israel and Gaza--and Southern Lebanon and the West Bank --  is unfolding rapidly. Following the Hamas attacks on Saturday, Netanyahu promised to “return fire of a magnitude that the enemy has not known.” Israel has already launched heavy airstrikes on Gaza and seems to be readying a ground invasion. Meanwhile, unrest in the West Bank has resulted in several Palestinians killed by Israeli soldiers. And in Southern Lebanon, Hezbollah has been trading rocket fire with Israel.

I typically release podcast episodes on Sunday night and Wednesday nights (to catch Europeans, Africans those of us in the Americas on their morning commute). But given the gravity of this crisis I released an episode last night featuring Daniel Levy, whose perspective on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict I’ve long appreciated. He is head of the U.S./Middle East Project and a former peace negotiator under the governments of Israeli Prime Ministers Yitzhak Rabin and Ehud Barak.

We discuss why Hamas attack happened when it did, the strategic logic underpinning Hamas' actions, Israel's likely response, the implications of this crisis for Israeli domestic politics, and the prospect that this might devolve into a wider regional conflict. 

• The episode is freely available everywhere you listen to podcasts. This link will take you to the Global Dispatches podcast episode

• The full transcript of our conversation is available immediately for paid subscribers, below the paywall.

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Read the transcript of my interview with Daniel Levy