The Israeli public and its de: to recision makers understand that slogans such as “eliminating Hamas” or “talking to Hamas” will not win a war or resolve the Palestinian problem. Indeed, the objectives of Operation Pillar of Defense are carefully definedstore Israel’s deterrence vis-à-vis Hamas by dealing a severe blow to the Palestinian terrorist organizations in the Gaza Strip and denying them the use of their strategic array of long range rockets. The operation began on November 14, 2012 with impressive military and intelligence...
For better or worse, the public discourse in Israel has recently focused exclusively on the nuclearization of Iran. However, precisely in light of the upheavals in the Arab world, it is now worth reexamining the relevance of the Arab Peace Initiative, which surfaced in Beirut in 2002 and was reaffirmed at subsequent Arab summits, most recently five months ago in Baghdad.
The Palestinian prisoners’ hunger strike, which made headlines in recent weeks, seems to have ended with the signing of a memorandum of understanding between Israel and the prisoners, achieved through the mediation of the Egyptian intelligence services. The hunger strike, in effect another Palestinian tool in the struggle with Israel, departs from terrorism and violence and focuses on applying public opinion pressure on Israel. The incident is indicative of the mutual influence between the Egyptian street and the Palestinian...
In a recently published essay, Ahmed Qurei (Abu Alaa) called for the Palestinian leadership to consider renouncing the two-state formula that underlies the Israeli-Palestinian political process. As a possible alternative, he suggests examining the idea of a bi-national state: “The two-state plan,” he writes, “has lost its vitality and has gradually expired after a long period strewn with hopes for a just resolution and comprehensive peace in the region.” The authors review the reasons underlying the growth if this idea, and analyze...
With a lack of consensus in the Palestinian camps on various issues and numerous obstacles to the two main political processes – the political process with Israel and internal Palestinian reconciliation – social network users are channeling their energy in new directions. The younger generation in Gaza and the West Bank is engaged in a lively debate on social networking sites on three major subjects: the Palestinian problem; the approach to the Palestinian leadership; and the transition from violent struggle to non-violent struggle,...
The anticipated meeting between Benjamin Netanyahu and Salam Fayyad did not take place, and by all indications, the meeting with Saeb Erekat and the Palestinian intelligence chief did not produce any significant results. According to most estimates, there is no serious chance of a breakthrough in peace talks during 2012. It is widely believed that the letter from Mahmoud Abbas to Netanyahu was intended to create a political foundation for measures to be taken by the PA in response to what they refer to as a stalemate in the political...
In Israeli research there are two types of discourse regarding how to assess and judge warfare in densely populated areas: the normative discourse and the operative discourse. Conspicuously absent is the interactive discourse with the non-state enemy, i.e., the willingness to look at oneself through the eyes of the enemy in the course of the fighting. This discourse exists among non-state organizations such as Hizbollah and Hamas.
It behooves us to investigate asymmetry. Asymmetry between entities is measured not only in terms of force but also exists in every aspect in which there is a difference in the nature of the conflicting sides, in their goals, power, methods of operation, and especially the rules of the game by which they play.
Since the middle of the twentieth century there has been a process of dramatic change in the history of warfare. The change in the landscape, i.e., natural landscapes turning into urban areas, requires a change in the nature of war, both on the part of the defender and on the part of the attacker.
The recent round of inconclusive fighting across the Gaza-Israel border prompts several observations about the outcome and possible implications for the future. Three main issues stand out: the Iron Dome system, Egypt in the role of intermediary, and the inter-Palestinian conflict in Gaza, particularly between Hamas and more radical groups.
Sharp differences of opinion within the Hamas leadership have surfaced since an agreement about who will be the prime minister of the Palestinian unity government was signed between Mahmoud Abbas, Chairman of the Palestinian Authority, and Khaled Mashal, Chairman of the Hamas Political Bureau, in Doha on February 6, 2012. The agreement lifted a major obstacle in the reconciliation process between the organizations, once the two leaders agreed that Abbas would head the national unity government that is to be established as part of the...
At the end of the Interim Leadership Forum in Cairo, attended by Palestinian Authority head Mahmoud Abbas, Islamic Jihad head Ramadan Shalah, and Hamas leader Khaled Mashal, Mashal stated that Fatah and Hamas should turn over a new leaf and recognize the errors of the past. He also declared that Hamas intends to adopt the strategy of popular resistance that was used in the past year in various Arab countries.
