Any discussion of October 7th’s impact must acknowledge two facts. Israeli-Palestinian history didn’t begin or end on that date. And the painful impact of that day’s terror is not solely responsible for the dramatic transformations of the next three years.The parties involved in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict were all guilty of horrible miscalculations that led up to Hamas’ deadly cross-border assault and Israel’s actions in response. For decades, Israel’s occupation had strangled Gaza, restricting the Palestinian economy and ability to leave the territory for travel, trade, or even needed health care. Israel also imposed controls on imports, for an extended period even limiting food into Gaza to the per-capita caloric intake needed to sustain life.At the same time, the Israeli government callously saw it in their interest to support Hamas’ role in managing Gaza. They allowed Hamas to receive tens of millions of dollars each month to support governance. Hamas relieved Israel of the burden of administering the territory and furthered their argument that they had no Palestinian partner for peace. Despite clearly seeing Hamas as an enemy, the Israeli government felt it could be controlled with periodic........

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