In the lexicon of the Israel Defense Forces that frequently develops in response to the security challenges of the day, the verb “to contain” has become key. It is a supreme ambition of army commanders and the defense establishment, in advance of possible recognition of a Palestinian state by the United Nations in September, “to contain” events. They are no longer seeking engagement on the ground, or even victory. Success will be reflected in the ability of the army and police to prevent events from spreading and escalating, seeing to it that things end with as few casualties as possible, on both sides.

In conversations and interviews against the backdrop of the riots in England, senior police officials in London also said they were seeking “containment” of the situation at any price. Police took steps to head off groups of young people who had been seeking to destroy and loot, pushing them away from shopping areas and transportation arteries, and exhausting them to the point where they would choose to go home. The most important thing was to avoid casualties.”

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