We have two covers this week. In the Middle East and Africa we focus on Israel’s hubris. Eighteen months ago the Jewish state seemed vulnerable and confused. Now it is militarily rampant. Yet a clear majority of Israelis support negotiations with Hamas and a withdrawal from Gaza in order to bring home the remaining hostages. They believe that the prime minister, Binyamin Netanyahu, is prosecuting the war to appease the hard right. For many years Israel depended on its American ally to tell it when to stop fighting. With Donald Trump in the White House, those days are over. Israel now needs the wisdom to practise self-restraint.
