Mossi Raz: Only a political agreement will wipe out Hamas motivation The war in Gaza is a result of Israel’s policy of recalcitrance as default. The destruction wrought by this policy of Netanyahus government is based upon the misconceptions of its initiators. Since the beginning of the occupation in 1967, rockets have been falling on Israeli citizens, and Hamas has vigorously been firing rockets upon residents of South and Central Israel since the beginning of 2001. Successive Israeli governments tried different kinds of force-based solutions to the problem, with the loss of many Israelis lives as well as 9000 Palestinians. However, as time went on, the atrocious stream of rockets just increased, while at the same time the governments of Israel continued in their policy of recalcitrance. In 2002 the Arab League Peace Initiative entered the world, but Israel denied the offer of 22 Arab countries; in 2003 Israel ignored the Geneva Initiative which was placed on the table; in 2005 Israel carried out a disengagement from Gaza while simultaneously refusing to coordinate the move with the Palestinian Authority; in 2007 Israel rejected the Annapolis Conference; and in 2014 Israel blew up the diplomatic negotiations by means of massive construction of settlements and the violation of its obligation to release prisoners. And when there is no peace, war comes. The Israeli government created a situation in which the Gazans have nothing to lose: Gaza is almost completely sealed. No one goes in and no one goes out. The Gazans stopped working in Israel long ago and a blockade was imposed on the strip in 2006. I recall a conversation with the Deputy Prime Minister, Haim Ramon, in which I warned him that the blockade would strengthen Hamas through the collection of taxes on their tunnels. He promised me in response that Hamas would fall within three months. In practice, the blockage certainly prevented the entrance of parsley to the strip but it did not prevent the arming of Hamas, which was strengthened and grew rich from the collection of taxes for the tunnels. Later, in the course of Summer Rains, Cast Lead and Cloud Pillar Israeli governments again tried to solve the problem with force. However it was not successful for one clear reason: there is no military solution. Also at the beginning of Protective Edge we were witness to all of the government spokespeople and the commenters who promised that within two days Hamas will fall to its knees and beg for a cease-fire. But also this time it didnt happen. It turned out that you cant educate and teach through violence and that violence is an invalid path. Surprisingly, we were witness to the fact that just as when the Israelis are attacked, an urge is awakened in them to counterattack, the same is true of the Palestinians. Therefore, as much as the IDF intensified their blows against the Palestinians, Hamas grew and was strengthened accordingly. Because Hamas is an idea and their power is measured by their support and not necessarily by the number of rockets in their arsenal. In that manner, even if we would destroy all of the tunnels that they dug, they will use rockets, and if we wipe out all of their rockets, they will infiltrate through the sea, and if we dry up the sea they will return to suicide attacks. Therefore the lesson is very clear: there is no military solution; only a political agreement that will wipe out Hamas motivation, can assist us in achieving our goal. Indeed the government promised us deterrence, but experience shows that the lifespan of deterrence is the same as the lifespan of a popsicle in the desert sun in August. Look at our history: in the Six Day War the IDF was victorious in the most impressive military victory that can be thought of, and the response was Katyushas on the Galil, infiltrations in the Jordan Valley, the first terror attacks, the War of Attrition and the Yom Kippur War. Also the announcement of former Prime Minister Menachem Begin zl after the deterrence of the First Lebanon War saying that the land will be quiet for 40 years didnt last 40 hours. Therefore, its no surprise that after the hard military blow that Hamas took, they continued firing. Therefore, there is no option but to recognize the fact that the path to deal with the rockets goes through the Arab League Initiative, an agreement with the Palestinian unity government in which Gaza will be an inseparable part of the state of Palestine, the blockade on Gaza will be lifted and hope will be created for its residents.
Posted on: Wed, 27 Aug 2014 11:13:57 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015