Israel-Palestine: une guerre de religion , By: Elie Barnavi

From the hope of peace to resumptions of violence, from the assassination of Rabin to the construction of the wall and, recently, the painful evacuation of the Gaza territories, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict can sometimes seem insurmountable, and provokes in France heated discussions. Elie Barnavi was an actor in the war, he defended peace. The analysis he gives us here is all the more valuable as it combines his historical knowledge of the Wars of Religion and that of this so complex situation. Because this is precisely the heart of his point: to understand how this territorial conflict, opposing two secular visions of the world, Zionism and Arab nationalism carried by Nasser, was able to turn into a real war of religions? The one that aims for total eliminationof the adversary and for whom the traitor (Rabin yesterday, Sharon even more today) is worse than the enemy. It is also the slim chance of peace: to ensure, as Mahmoud Abbas recently said, that the war between religions gives way to a conflict between two national units.