The Hamas attack is not only a surprise and the result of colossal intelligence and operational failures, with costs higher than what they seem, and which will be seared in the national consciousness for many years. The Hamas attack is the price of failure of the paradigm of restraint, containment, and addiction to calm, which has accompanied Israel since 2009. There will be time for investigations and self-flagellation, but once control over the communities in the Gaza envelope is regained, the updated strategic purpose of the campaign against Hamas must become clear.
Israel has declared a state of war for the first time since 1973, and this has major importance – legally, cognitively, and operationally, and will also define the strategic purpose and objectives of the military campaign. The strategic purpose must seek a fundamental change in the status of Hamas and its influence in the Palestinian arena. The source of Hamas's power lies in its military capabilities, and therefore action must be taken toward a severe attack on Hamas's military capabilities and its leadership. This blow will serve three principal essential purposes:
a. Weakening the influence of Hamas on the terrorist system in the West Bank. Hamas is one of the most influential and significant elements that feed the terrorist system in the West Bank and is responsible for the escalated situation there.
b. Weakening Iran's influence in the Palestinian arena, since the existing equation is that a strong Hamas = more significant Iranian influence in the Palestinian arena.
c. Strengthening the image of Israeli power and deterring Hezbollah, Iran, and other actors, who may see the Hamas attack as confirmation that the time is ripe to attack Israel from many fronts in order to bring it down.
The battery of international legitimacy is fully charged at this time, but by its nature it empties relatively quickly and therefore the Israeli blow needs to be swift, deep, and significant, to ensure important achievements before Israel has to face a host of pressures from the international community.
The large number of Israelis kidnapped in the Gaza Strip territory adds to the complexity of the challenge, but the main effort at this time must be given to the military strike, whose purpose is to crush Hamas’s military capabilities. Without realizing this goal, Israel will not only have difficulty in gaining the release of those kidnapped, but become entangled and stuck in a dangerous quagmire not only against Hamas and the Palestinian arena, but in the other arenas as well.
Reality forces the Israeli leadership to abandon the paradigm of containment and resolution, and the paradigmatic change that is necessary should be realized fully, as soon as possible, and with an iron sword and a confident hand.
The Hamas attack is not only a surprise and the result of colossal intelligence and operational failures, with costs higher than what they seem, and which will be seared in the national consciousness for many years. The Hamas attack is the price of failure of the paradigm of restraint, containment, and addiction to calm, which has accompanied Israel since 2009. There will be time for investigations and self-flagellation, but once control over the communities in the Gaza envelope is regained, the updated strategic purpose of the campaign against Hamas must become clear.
Israel has declared a state of war for the first time since 1973, and this has major importance – legally, cognitively, and operationally, and will also define the strategic purpose and objectives of the military campaign. The strategic purpose must seek a fundamental change in the status of Hamas and its influence in the Palestinian arena. The source of Hamas's power lies in its military capabilities, and therefore action must be taken toward a severe attack on Hamas's military capabilities and its leadership. This blow will serve three principal essential purposes:
a. Weakening the influence of Hamas on the terrorist system in the West Bank. Hamas is one of the most influential and significant elements that feed the terrorist system in the West Bank and is responsible for the escalated situation there.
b. Weakening Iran's influence in the Palestinian arena, since the existing equation is that a strong Hamas = more significant Iranian influence in the Palestinian arena.
c. Strengthening the image of Israeli power and deterring Hezbollah, Iran, and other actors, who may see the Hamas attack as confirmation that the time is ripe to attack Israel from many fronts in order to bring it down.
The battery of international legitimacy is fully charged at this time, but by its nature it empties relatively quickly and therefore the Israeli blow needs to be swift, deep, and significant, to ensure important achievements before Israel has to face a host of pressures from the international community.
The large number of Israelis kidnapped in the Gaza Strip territory adds to the complexity of the challenge, but the main effort at this time must be given to the military strike, whose purpose is to crush Hamas’s military capabilities. Without realizing this goal, Israel will not only have difficulty in gaining the release of those kidnapped, but become entangled and stuck in a dangerous quagmire not only against Hamas and the Palestinian arena, but in the other arenas as well.
Reality forces the Israeli leadership to abandon the paradigm of containment and resolution, and the paradigmatic change that is necessary should be realized fully, as soon as possible, and with an iron sword and a confident hand.