THEY DIDN'T START THE FIRE AND SEEM UNABLE TO DOUSE IT

West Asia's unending cycle of violence started with British and French meddling in the early 20th century. The latest spiral doesn't seem to offer a ramp off

- MANISH TEWARI

ISRAEL'S latest attacks on Hezbollah strongholds in Lebanon have left over 600 people dead, including Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah, and hundreds more injured. They have possibly decapitated the top leadership of the most aggressive semi-state actor in the Levant. Israel's ground offensive was followed by Iran's missile attack in retaliation to Nasrallah's assassination. The world now awaits Israel's response. These ominous developments have set the stage for a dangerous escalation with no off ramps.

The conflict that commenced on October 7, 2023 with Hamas attacking and murdering hundreds of innocent Israeli civilians and taking many others hostage was followed by a disproportionate Israeli response that has left over 40,000 dead in Gaza in a yearlong retaliation.

Such a cycle of violence been repeating incessantly since the British mandate over Palestine expired on May 14, 1948 and Israel was carved into existence from Palestine.

However, the conflict's genesis is much deeper and has everything to do with the broader reorganisation of West Asia after the dismemberment of the Ottoman empire at the end of the first world war.

Some terms deserve to be explained before delving into the history. Today, Palestine is a disjointed geographical expanse in the eastern Mediterranean region bordered by Israel, Jordan, Egypt and Lebanon. It is part of the wider span called the Levant, which was a junction of various cultures and empires across antiquity. The term Levant traces its etymology to the Latin levare, meaning 'to raise'-denoting the direction of sunrise. From 1497, Levant has found mention in the English language for Mediterranean lands to the east of Italy.