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So, which year is this? A US president, following an extended period of quiet support, has ultimately stepped in to stop an offensive by Israeli forces that has reduced large areas of a Middle Eastern city to ruins, causing many thousands killed and prompting worldwide anger.

The offensive has followed a succession of attacks on the Israeli nation. Presently, facing demands from the US administration, the Israeli prime minister, a right-leaning figure with a gift for popular speech and a strong feeling of Zionist historical purpose, has agreed to a truce.

Past Echoes

The year is not present day, but four decades ago. The location is not present-day Gaza, but Beirut, Lebanon. The US leader is President Reagan, not the current administration.

We find numerous variations between what happened in Lebanon over four in the past and what has happened in the Gaza Strip in the recent period. The October attack of recent times, which caused over a thousand and involved 250 taken hostage, differs significantly with the relatively paltry actions of the Palestinian leadership in the period preceding the Israeli incursion of Lebanon.

Remarkable Resemblances

Some are uncanny. The president ultimately contacted the counterpart, stating to him that the situation in Beirut was "a holocaust" and indicating the relations between their nations could be seriously harmed if the fighting carried on.

At that time, similar to current times, the conflict unfolded in immediate coverage on millions of screens. Numerous correspondents traveled to the capital to document for the premier occasion an Middle Eastern conflict without censorship by any party.

Subsequent Developments

What happened following the communication from American leadership and the truce in the city is educational. The liberation movement, its divisions and representatives were dispersed across multiple countries and a dozen countries.

The US administration then pulled out multinational troops – a violation of the agreement with the Palestinian leader. Bashir Gemayel, Lebanon's newly elected head of state and Israeli-supported figure, was murdered by Syrian intelligence.

Middle Eastern Changes

Similar patterns emerged across the wider Middle East. By the conclusion of that decade, the more secular and progressive ideas that had looked to deliver the promise of a different tomorrow in the Middle Eastern nations previously were discredited.

The results of this were quickly apparent, in short order

In various nations, Israel and the United States now encountered adversaries who were considerably more stubborn, lethal and effective than the leftists and independence advocates of previous times.

International Reaction

Among Western nations, the outcomes of this were counterintuitive. During the 1970s, global observers and government representatives had sought to understand what led to violent extremism.

Subsequently, in the beginning of that decade, this stopped. Political leaders in the United States, the Britain and elsewhere were ceased being concerned in "fundamental sources" of unrest.

Current Similarities

In recent days, reports indicate that current leadership communicated to government representatives that the state could not fight all the world and acknowledged Palestinian aspirations for a independent nation.

This also was an parallel of that earlier period. In the wake of the armed entry of the neighboring country, earlier administration told the nation that the power of its military alone could not "achieve just and lasting peace" and accepted "proper claims of the Palestinian population."

However a internationally-backed regional peace plan intended to resolve those complaints went nowhere. From exile, Palestinian leadership watched helplessly.

Global attention in the area diminished. Israel opposed compromises. Subsequently, there was the initial uprising, and the creation of additional militant groups.

• The patterns of previous events provide thought-provoking perspectives for present-day peace efforts
• Enduring agreements require addressing fundamental problems rather than brief halts
• Area politics continue to change in multifaceted and sometimes unexpected ways