John Hulsman, an expert speaker on risk and the political economy of the Middle East, discusses what brought about the Gaza crisis and what Obama should (and crucially should not) do about it.

John describes how renewed upheaval in the region began when the bodies of three kidnapped Israeli teenagers were found dead, allegedly taken by low-level Hamas militants. In response, a Palestinian teenager was seized and burned alive by Israeli thugs. This back and forth game of “sickening logic” has continued to escalate, as torrents of rockets were exchanged between Israel and Gaza. As Israel threatens to broaden the campaign into a ground war, John argues that “the Middle East tragedy will become a catastrophe if Obama missteps now.”

John notes that, entirely correctly, the Obama administration has offered to broker a ceasefire between Hamas and Israel to stop the needless bleeding. However in doing so, several rules of thumb ought to be strictly observed:

1. Obama must reiterate the basic point that it is unlikely that Hamas wanted this conflict.
2. A ceasefire backed by the Americans would give Hamas a face-saving way out of its present muddle.
3. It is imperative that the White House opts for a limited, tactical deal; Obama must not try for more than this.

Click here to read the reasons why.

To find out more about John Hulsman, or to book him as a speaker, please contact Alex Hickman at [email protected] or call +44 (0) 20 7792 8004.