We are engaged in an unprecedented event, and therefore forecasts are irrelevant. Basic assumptions have collapsed, and this reality requires critical thinking about concepts that have long anchored our personal and national self-confidence.
The situation constitutes a strategic change of direction, and therefore the end state of this war must be a fundamental change of reality in Gaza:
• Hamas cannot remain the “address” in the Gaza Strip that Israel has long presumed (a deterred, weakened, and functional element).
• The military capabilities of Hamas cannot be left standing.
• All the captives in Gaza must be returned to Israel.
There is also an opportunity:
• International legitimacy and freedom of offensive action for Israel that enables high aggressiveness.
• Weakening of Hamas in a way that would allow the restoration of the Palestinian Authority in Gaza.
• The shocking event will extricate us from the destructive preoccupation that has engulfed us for 10 months.
• The process of ending the war can be integrated with a Saudi mediation component that can speed up normalization that also addresses the Palestinian problem.
But the most important element now is cohesion, camaraderie, and solidarity and support for the IDF and the security forces. The public must show responsibility, stop the madness of delusional conspiracies on social media, and observe the guidelines issued by the Home Front Command. This is a war on the home front. The victory on the battlefront will be achieved by the IDF, but the victory on the home front will be realized by our special Israeli society.
We are engaged in an unprecedented event, and therefore forecasts are irrelevant. Basic assumptions have collapsed, and this reality requires critical thinking about concepts that have long anchored our personal and national self-confidence.
The situation constitutes a strategic change of direction, and therefore the end state of this war must be a fundamental change of reality in Gaza:
• Hamas cannot remain the “address” in the Gaza Strip that Israel has long presumed (a deterred, weakened, and functional element).
• The military capabilities of Hamas cannot be left standing.
• All the captives in Gaza must be returned to Israel.
There is also an opportunity:
• International legitimacy and freedom of offensive action for Israel that enables high aggressiveness.
• Weakening of Hamas in a way that would allow the restoration of the Palestinian Authority in Gaza.
• The shocking event will extricate us from the destructive preoccupation that has engulfed us for 10 months.
• The process of ending the war can be integrated with a Saudi mediation component that can speed up normalization that also addresses the Palestinian problem.
But the most important element now is cohesion, camaraderie, and solidarity and support for the IDF and the security forces. The public must show responsibility, stop the madness of delusional conspiracies on social media, and observe the guidelines issued by the Home Front Command. This is a war on the home front. The victory on the battlefront will be achieved by the IDF, but the victory on the home front will be realized by our special Israeli society.