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So, which year are we in? The White House occupant, after months of quiet support, has ultimately stepped in to stop an Israeli military offensive that has turned large areas of a urban center in the region to ruins, causing many thousands dead and prompting worldwide anger.

This military action has come after a series of assaults on Israel. Now, responding to pressure from American leadership, the prime minister of Israel, a right-leaning figure with a talent for popular speech and a strong feeling of Zionist historical purpose, has agreed to a ceasefire.

Past Echoes

The time period is not present day, but four decades ago. The location is not Gaza City, but the Lebanese capital. The American president is President Reagan, not the current administration.

There are significant distinctions between what happened in Lebanon more than four decades ago and what has happened in Gaza in the past two years. The October attack of recent times, which caused twelve hundred and saw 250 taken hostage, shows limited similarity with the comparatively limited efforts of the PLO in the time preceding the Israeli incursion of Lebanon.

Striking Parallels

Certain parallels are striking. The president ultimately made the call the prime minister, informing him that events in the capital was "a catastrophe" and saying the diplomatic ties between their nations could be seriously harmed if the conflict continued.

In 1982, much as today, the conflict unfolded in immediate coverage on televisions worldwide. Many reporters flew into the capital to report on for the premier occasion an Middle Eastern conflict without information control by either side.

Subsequent Developments

The events subsequent to the call from American leadership and the truce in the city is instructive. The Palestinian organization, its factions and officials were scattered across multiple countries and a various states.

The US administration then withdrew US-led peacekeepers – a violation of the understanding with the Palestinian leader. The Lebanese president, Lebanon's newly elected head of state and Israel's chosen ally, was murdered by Damascus operatives.

Regional Transformation

The same was true across the broader area. By the end of the 1970s, the more secular and forward-thinking concepts that had appeared to provide the potential of a different tomorrow in the regional countries a decade or so earlier were undermined.

The consequences of this emerged rapidly, very quickly

Across the region, Israel and the America now encountered adversaries who were considerably more stubborn, dangerous and effective than the leftists and patriotic organizations of previous times.

Western Response

Internationally, the consequences of this were counterintuitive. During the 1970s, global observers and policymakers had tried to analyze what caused armed fundamentalism.

Subsequently, in the early 1980s, this ceased. Government officials in the US, the Britain and other nations were lost interest in "underlying reasons" of unrest.

Current Similarities

In recent days, accounts show that today's officials communicated to Israeli counterparts that Israel could not oppose international consensus and recognized territorial ambitions for a independent nation.

Similarly was an repetition of 1982. In the aftermath of the armed entry of that nation, past government told Israel that the strength of its defense establishment alone could not "achieve just and lasting peace" and acknowledged "justified demands of the Palestinian people."

Yet a US-led comprehensive agreement supposed to answer those concerns failed to progress. From exile, political figures looked on powerlessly.

Worldwide concern in the region diminished. Israel opposed compromises. Later, there was the major unrest, and the founding of additional militant groups.

• The patterns of history offer sobering lessons for contemporary diplomatic initiatives
• Permanent settlements require dealing with fundamental problems rather than short-term truces
• Local circumstances continue to change in complicated and frequently surprising ways