No vicious circle?

It may seem paradoxical at first glance, but the murder of three young Israelis and the revenge killing of a Palestinian youth in Jerusalem have provided the preconditions for a rapid de-escalation in the Middle East. Neither the Israeli government nor Hamas are interested in a military confrontation right now.

The Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip has been significantly weakened, and regionally isolated after the change of power in Egypt and the break with the Assad regime in Syria. The Hamas leadership is trying to break through this regional and international isolation with the Fatah-led unity government.

The Netanyahu government is also unlikely to make any political gains by a further escalation in the violence. In view of the complex and developing situation in Syria and Iraq, a new war with Hamas could trigger a fatal dynamic in the region. And it would certainly lead to many civilian casualties while further strengthening Hamas politically.

Verbal de-escalation necessary

But to break through the logic of reprisals, all sides must first verbally disarm. In addition, the Israeli police must do more to protect Arab citizens from attacks by radical settlers and their sympathizers. And the rocket fire from the Gaza Strip must also stop.

Nevertheless, these steps may not suffice without a return to a mutual political agreement to defuse the tense situation. This possibility has been hampered by the massive deployment of the Israeli army in recent weeks and the resulting harm to the Palestinian population - especially since it was hard to shake the feeling that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wanted to politically exploit the tragedy to force Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to terminate the Palestinian unity government.

In any case, with every escalation in violence, the moderate forces seem to be among the losers. Abbas has once again been caught in the crossfire and decided, rightly so, against resorting to violence. He has unequivocally condemned the murder of the Talmud students and not ended the Palestinian Authority's cooperation with the Israeli army, which must have lost him the support of many of his compatriots.

For these reasons, it's high time for the Netanyahu government, which is controlled by the extreme right wing, to tackle the problem of racism in Israeli society. Israel should also not do anything else that could further damage Abbas's authority because it will be nearly impossible for Israelis to find a better partner for peace.