Israel’s Forever War

No war in living memory has stirred up such anger, fear and loathing as the long-running Israel–Palestine conflict, and peace in the region has never seemed further away. The 7 October 2023 attack by Hamas on Israel had far-reaching and potentially devastating consequences for the Middle East and for the world. As the war has expanded to take in other players in the area, the future of Israel as a regional superpower is now in doubt and the chances of all-out war between Israel and its neighbours have become much greater.

This essential work looks at the background to the Hamas–Israel war and asks whether the international system can contain two simultaneous wars in Europe and the Levant. It examines the wars that preceded this one, the rise of Hamas and the roles Hezbollah, Iran and Syria play in the conflict. Paul Moorcraft considers the war’s impact on Israeli society, the economy and the Israel Defense Forces, while also looking at how media and propaganda shape our view of the war and how the conflict affects the whole region’s relationships with the west.

Here, Moorcraft brings all perspectives together in an expert and balanced analysis, examining the potential outcomes of the war and arguing that the two-state solution should be revived. Peace has never looked more impossible – but the alternative, a forever war, is even more impossible.