Erstellt am: 15. 11. 2012 - 14:59 Uhr

The Many Aspects of the Middle East crisis

Realitc Check: Rocket strikes in Middle East, China's new politburo, the FBI's e-mail scandal, Chavs

Cross border violence is escalating after Israel assassinated the military leader of Hamas yesterday, and Palestinians retaliated with rocket fire into southern Israel.

Of course, it's not as simple as that. It never is. It is just the lastest in the strike for strike, tit for tat, that has been going on at different levels of intensity for decades, and the view of who started it depends entirely on which side you are looking from.

Israel feels it has to respond to Palestinian rocket attacks which terrorise civilians and damage the local economies in southern Israel. Palestinians say that Israel's "surgical strikes" against terrorist targets frequently kill civilians, and that life for Palestinians living under the Israeli land, air and sea blockade is intolerable.

However, while this recent exchange is, to some extent, "more of the same", there are some crucial differences this time.

As Irris Makler reports from Jerusalem, the current escalation has the potential to return the region to the state of war it was in in 2008.

The escalation in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is coming at a particularly bad time for the rest of the region. With Syria still in chaos, and the Arab Uprisings still resonating in all corners of the Arab world, another crisis is the last thing they need. Karim El Gawhary looks at the reactions in Egypt and the wider implications for the region.

• China's new Politburo

Jörg Winter analyses the new line-up of the political elite in China, and what it might mean for the future.

• Petraeus scandal and the FBI's e-mail policy

While the main focus in the Petraeus scandal has been the details of the "inappropriate" relationships and issues of national security, many people are more concerned about how the FBI gained access to around 20,000 private e-mails.

Greg Nojein, a senior lawyer at the Center for Democracy and Technology,explains the law, and the issue of the abuse of surveillance in the FBI.

• Chavs

Zita Bereuter meets Owen Jones, the author of "Chavs".

FM4 Reality Check

Monday to Friday from 12.00 to 14.00, and after the show via Podcast or fm4.orf.at/realitycheck.