Strategic Assessment

September 2007 marked seven years since the outbreak of the Palestinian uprising in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. There is no end in sight to this round of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, which since its eruption has continued in waves. Consequently, the key developments and trends of the confrontation cannot be summarized definitively, and at best they can be illustrated in terms of an intermediate balance sheet. At the same time the bottom line of this balance sheet, which addresses the major aspects of a multifaceted, implication-laden conflict, is clear, unequivocal, and distressing. It indicates a considerable worsening of conditions for laying the foundations of an Israeli-Palestinian compromise based on political and territorial separation and the establishment of a viable Palestinian political-economic entity alongside the State of Israel.