Considering Operation Protective Edge: Can Declaration of War Be Part of a Strategy to Offset the Asymmetry of the Israeli-Hamas Conflict in the Gaza Strip?

Three rounds of violence between Israel and Hamas since 2008 have not resulted in any change to the fundamental essence of the conflict. Israel is trapped in an asymmetrical conflict with increasingly intense violence, a reality in which Hamas manages to prove the “Paradox of Power”: Israel’s military strength becomes its weakness while Hamas’ military weakness becomes its strength. Seeing Gaza as a state-like entity and declaring war on it may help alter public opinion, allowing for definition of clear goals and less engagement in dialecticism. Declaration of war could help lay a foundation of awareness more suitable to a change of the second degree, i.e., a change of the system, to distinguish from a change of the first degree, i.e., a change within the system. Analyzing the significance and implications of a declaration of war, this article does not rely on a case of an actual recent declaration; rather, it challenges conventional thought and may help in transforming the conflict by laying the foundation for rearranging the system, so as to manage the conflict at a lower level of violence and perhaps even end and resolve it.