Jake Bower

Israel may be preparing to resolve the contentious debate over the expulsion of the Palestinian refugees in 1948 - by repeating it. As Gaza’s civil infrastructure goes into meltdown, worrying parallels are emerging with the chain of events following the withdrawal of the British from Palestine. The demography of the Middle East has always been the biggest obstacle to the establishment of a Jewish state in Israel. The Zionist project was built upon the dream of a homeland in which Jews would no longer be a minority. The expulsion of Arab populations in order to found a demographically and politically Jewish state has long been an important theme in Zionist thought.

An unexpected energy windfall on Israel’s doorstep promises to resolve Israel’s energy security concerns for years to come. Unfortunately for Israek, it is the Palestinian Authority that controls the licensing of these reserves. So, as Operation Summer Rains washes away the administrative and political structures in the occupied territories, has Israel decided to use Hamas as an excuse to dismantle the PA and seize its energy assets? After the Iranian Revolution cut-off energy supplies in 1979, and the loss of Sinai’s oil in 1982, Israel became dependent on expensive, long-distance energy imports.