One of the main problems in discussing the fate of the Palestinians is the lack of basic historical memory in the Western media. Events in the very recent past soon drop out of the standard media narrative in a way that makes it impossible to comprehend the Palestinian perspective.

This certainly applies to the memory of past Israeli offensives against Gaza and the massive destruction they caused. But it also applies to the understanding of political events. In order to make sense of what is happening today, we need to know how the Palestinian national movement came to be divided between two parties, Hamas and Fatah, and two territories, Gaza and the West Bank, without having made any progress toward independent statehood.

For Israel and its supporters, there is a simple explanation for this outcome. Israel withdrew its forces from Gaza in 2005 as a bold gesture to create an opportunity for peace. Instead of responding constructively to this gesture, Palestinians voted for Hamas in an election held the following year. Hamas went on to seize power in Gaza and repeatedly used the territory as a base from which to carry out attacks on Israeli soil, leaving Israel with no alternative but to launch military operations in response.