The Two-state solution has been the cornerstone of every single attempt of the international community to solve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. These days the prospect of a peaceful, permanent resolution is fading fast. The Israeli government is following a policy of constant settlement building in the occupied territories, an illegal activity under international law. The Palestinian leadership at the same time, trapped in its own microcosm, aging and failing, is preoccupied with maintaining whatever power it has. 50 years after the occupation of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip things are slowly reaching a boiling point, where the pressure could erupt anytime with unprecedented consequences.
Lebanon is a small and internally complicated country, so why should anyone on the outside bother? And since at present it is also tranquil then maybe it is wise just to leave good enough alone. These realities, while true, cannot constitute valid reasons for open-ended benign neglect. Hidden corrosive forces in and around the tiny country are constantly at work, and sudden calamitous setbacks as happened on many occasions in Lebanon's recent past remain a menacing possibility at all times. What sits quietly and unobtrusively on the sidelines could merely out of carelessness find itself sliding into turmoil and thus be swiftly catapulted to center-stage with ugly fallout on the immediate surroundings and possibly far beyond. In this respect Lebanon may not exactly be a ticking time-bomb since it does exhibit a healthy "been there, done that" resilience, but it persists as a delicately cobbled polity with much about it that is unfinished or unresolved, thereby harboring built-in vulnerabilities that are potentially worrisome.
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