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So, what year do we find ourselves? The White House occupant, subsequent to lengthy of quiet support, has ultimately stepped in to halt an Israeli military offensive that has transformed extensive sections of a urban center in the region to ruins, resulting in thousands dead and generating worldwide anger.

This military action has been preceded by a succession of attacks on Israel. Currently, under pressure from American leadership, the Israeli prime minister, a conservative politician with an aptitude for populist rhetoric and a deep conviction of historic Zionist mission, has agreed to a truce.

Past Echoes

The era is not the current year, but four decades ago. The location is not Gaza City, but the Lebanese capital. The president is the Reagan administration, not the current administration.

Exist numerous variations between the situation in Lebanon more than four years past and what has happened in Palestinian territories in the recent period. The militant assault of last year, which killed 1,200 and saw two hundred fifty captured, bears little comparison with the somewhat modest activities of the Palestine Liberation Organization in the time prior to military entry of the Lebanese nation.

Uncanny Similarities

Certain parallels are striking. Reagan finally contacted the Israeli leader, telling him that events in the capital was "a catastrophe" and saying the diplomatic ties between their countries could be gravely damaged if the violence continued.

During that period, comparable to present circumstances, the conflict unfolded in real time on global media. Hundreds reporters flew into Beirut to cover for the first time an Middle Eastern conflict without media restrictions by any party.

Aftermath and Consequences

The situation following the conversation from Reagan and the truce in Lebanon is revealing. The Palestinian organization, its factions and leaders were dispersed across multiple countries and a dozen countries.

American leadership then pulled out multinational troops – an infringement of the understanding with PLO leadership. Bashir Gemayel, Lebanon's newly elected leader and Israeli-supported figure, was murdered by Syrian security services.

Middle Eastern Changes

Similar patterns emerged across the wider Middle East. By the end of the 1970s, the more secular and forward-thinking concepts that had looked to deliver the hope of a different tomorrow in the Middle Eastern nations years before were weakened.

The consequences of this emerged rapidly, very quickly

In various nations, the Israeli state and the US now encountered adversaries who were considerably more stubborn, dangerous and capable than the progressive groups and patriotic organizations of the past.

International Reaction

Among Western nations, the consequences of this were unexpected. During the 1970s, global observers and officials had sought to understand what led to armed fundamentalism.

Subsequently, in the start of the eighties, this ceased. National figures in the US, the United Kingdom and other nations were lost interest in "root causes" of conflict.

Contemporary Echoes

Last week, reports indicate that current leadership informed the nation's leadership that the state could not confront global opinion and admitted Palestinian aspirations for a independent nation.

This too was an repetition of 1982. In the wake of the Israeli invasion of Lebanon, past government told the nation that the strength of its military alone could not "bring enduring settlement" and acknowledged "legitimate rights of the Palestinian people."

But a American-sponsored regional peace plan intended to address those concerns failed to progress. Overseas, Palestinian leadership looked on helplessly.

International interest in the region diminished. The nation resisted any concessions. Subsequently, there was the first intifada, and the creation of new resistance movements.

• The patterns of history present sobering insights for current peace efforts
• Permanent settlements require addressing fundamental problems rather than temporary ceasefires
• Regional dynamics continue to develop in complicated and sometimes unexpected ways