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WHAT HAPPENED Israeli forces began pulling out of northern Gaza on Monday after Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas suspended peace talks to protest the military offensive into Palestinian
territory. At least 110 Palestinians have died since Israel’s military attacked in an attempt to stop Palestinian militants from firing rockets into Israel. (CNN) WHAT THE COMMENTATORS SAID
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From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox. From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter,
get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox. A rare chance for peace is slipping away, said _The New York Times_ in an editorial (free registration). “For the first time, an
Israeli leader and a Palestinian leader seem genuinely committed to peace. They set a deadline for a deal by year’s end.” But there’s little hope of a two-state solution if key Arab states
don’t help Abbas and his “weak” security apparatus stop Hamas’ rocket attacks into Israel, and if Israel hardliners aren’t convinced that a “sustained ground assault on Gaza” is not the best
way to protect the Israeli people in the long run. “Israel's long-term solution lies in fully recognizing its post-1967 error of occupying portions of the West Bank,” said _The
Christian Science Monitor_ in an editorial. “Ending Jewish settlement of Palestinian land would be a first step toward curbing not only Hamas's rockets but also Arab and Iranian
enthusiasm to someday use large missiles on the Jewish state.” And Israel’s restraint will also “give it moral strength to find a solution and avoid Hamas's trap of forcing an
overreaction. Islamic radicals cannot be handed the high road.” Abbas, true to form, took the “easy option” when confronted with this crisis, said Con Coughlin in the London _Telegraph_.
Instead of confronting the real problem—Hamas’ rockets—he stopped talking to Israel “in protest at its uncompromising military response to those attacks,” and “made no effort to prevent
Hamas launching its rockets indiscriminately at Israeli settlements.” If Abbas is “incapable of providing the Palestinians with the strong and courageous leadership,” there isn’t much chance
he can “deliver” a peace deal, anyway. A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com