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So, what time period is this? A US president, following an extended period of tacit encouragement, has ultimately stepped in to halt an Israeli military offensive that has transformed large areas of a urban center in the region to rubble, resulting in thousands dead and prompting worldwide anger.

The campaign has followed a sequence of strikes on the Israeli nation. Now, under pressure from the US administration, the Israel's leader, a rightwinger with a gift for popular speech and a deep conviction of historic Zionist mission, has agreed to a ceasefire.

Historical Comparisons

The year is not the current year, but the early 1980s. The urban center is not present-day Gaza, but Beirut, Lebanon. The American president is President Reagan, not today's leadership.

There are numerous variations between what happened in the Lebanese nation more than four decades ago and what has happened in Palestinian territories in the last 24 months. The militant assault of last year, which killed 1,200 and involved 250 seized, shows limited similarity with the somewhat modest activities of the PLO in the time prior to military entry of the Lebanese nation.

Uncanny Similarities

Several similarities are remarkable. The US leader eventually contacted the counterpart, telling him that the situation in the capital was "a catastrophe" and indicating the diplomatic ties between their states could be significantly impaired if the fighting carried on.

At that time, similar to current times, the war developed in real time on global media. Hundreds journalists traveled to the capital to cover for the first time an regional battle without media restrictions by the combatants.

Results and Outcomes

The situation after the communication from Reagan and the truce in Lebanon is educational. The liberation movement, its divisions and representatives were dispersed across multiple countries and a various states.

Washington then withdrew multinational troops – an infringement of the agreement with Arafat. Bashir Gemayel, the country's freshly appointed president and Israel's chosen ally, was assassinated by Damascus operatives.

Middle Eastern Changes

Comparable developments occurred across the wider Middle East. By the conclusion of that decade, the increasingly non-religious and progressive ideas that had seemed to offer the hope of a new future in the Middle Eastern nations a decade or so earlier were weakened.

The outcomes of this became very clear, very quickly

Throughout the area, the Israeli state and the America now faced enemies who were much more unyielding, deadly and efficient than the secular movements and independence advocates of earlier years.

International Reaction

Internationally, the results of this were perverse. Throughout the seventies, global observers and policymakers had attempted to comprehend what generated violent extremism.

Subsequently, in the early 1980s, this ceased. Political leaders in the America, the United Kingdom and other nations were no longer interested in "fundamental sources" of unrest.

Contemporary Echoes

Recently, reports indicate that current leadership communicated to Israeli counterparts that the state could not oppose international consensus and acknowledged territorial ambitions for a sovereign entity.

This too was an repetition of historical precedent. In the consequence of the armed entry of the neighboring country, earlier administration told Israel that the power of its armed forces alone could not "bring permanent resolution" and accepted "justified demands of the Arab residents."

Yet a US-led comprehensive agreement meant to address those concerns went nowhere. Overseas, national representatives observed powerlessly.

International interest in the Middle East waned. The nation opposed compromises. Subsequently, there was the first intifada, and the founding of additional militant groups.

• The repetitions of previous events offer serious lessons for contemporary resolution attempts
• Permanent settlements require addressing fundamental problems rather than short-term truces
• Area politics continue to evolve in complex and sometimes unexpected ways