by Isi Leibler
Most of us were bitterly frustrated that the Hamas terrorist
regime was not removed in the course of Operation Protective Edge.
Although defeated, it remains in power and unless there is a diplomatic
breakthrough, we must be prepared for the likelihood of a future
conflict.
Despite this, the reality is that the Israel Defense Forces
performed superbly and achieved the declared objectives. It successfully
neutralized the immediate threats by destroying the tunnels and
dramatically eroded the ability of Hamas to launch sophisticated
missiles. Hamas failed to realize any of its demands and was ultimately
forced to accept the terms of the cease-fire as initially proposed by
Egypt at the outset which they had consistently rejected.
Israel can also be proud of the proven success of the Iron Dome,
the miraculous Israeli technological creation which undoubtedly saved
countless lives.
In this context, those Israeli politicians and commentators who
lament that we lost the war are not merely denigrating the achievements
of the IDF and undermining the morale of the nation, they are also
providing Hamas with credibility in their pathetic efforts to portray
themselves as the victors.
Prime Minister Netanyahu and Minister of Defense Moshe Ya’alon,
recognizing the political and military limitations of a small country,
demonstrated determined leadership by resisting public demands for an
all-out invasion of Gaza from demagogic and irresponsible Security
Cabinet Ministers. They realized that had we proceeded to “crush Hamas”
with a full scale land invasion and occupation, in addition to major
casualties, the outcome would undoubtedly have resulted in a US-led
demand for us to withdraw under humiliating circumstances, which would
indeed have provided Hamas with a propaganda victory.
Regrettably, instead of acting as an ally, the Obama
Administration behaved shamelessly during the conflict and all but
abandoned us on the diplomatic front. It treated Israel with moral
equivalence to the Hamas terrorist regime, sought to displace Egypt as a
mediator with pro-Hamas Qatar and Turkey, and even delayed delivery of
arms in the middle of a war. Had Obama not led the distorted charge that
Israel was acting disproportionately, the political outcome could have
been dramatically different.
The tension with the Obama administration is not based on
conflicting personalities. President Obama’s Third World outlook and his
warmth towards the Moslem Brotherhood are the basis for his contempt of
Israel. He understates U.S confrontations with Russia and rogue states,
yet becomes outraged when the Israeli government approves housing
construction in east Jerusalem or within the major settlement blocs.
However, the US remains our crucial ally, supporting us
militarily and politically shielding us from a hostile world which would
otherwise impose sanctions against us. Over the next two years, we must
do our utmost to minimize friction and reinforce our standing with the
American people and Congress on a bipartisan level.
The most critical message Israel has absorbed from this conflict
is that for the time being, the practical implementation of a two state
policy is off the agenda. Under the present circumstances, it is
delusionary to suggest that the Palestinian Authority under Abbas is a
peace partner.
Set aside the duplicity, corruption and incitement of the PA.
Ignore the fact that Abbas is threatening to charge Israel with war
crimes at the International Criminal Court and refuses to repudiate his
union with the genocidal Hamas who are committed to our destruction.
In the absence of an Israeli military presence, Hamas would
already be in control of the West Bank. Furthermore, all opinion polls
confirm that if a democratic election was held today, the vast majority
of Palestinians would unquestionably elect a Hamas leadership. Under
such circumstances, a Palestinian state would effectively mean the
transformation of the entire West Bank into Hamastan and the subsequent
exposure of all of Israel, including the major cities and airport, to
the range of mortar fire and low range primitive rockets (which cannot
be intercepted by Iron Dome). Hamas, supported by Iran, would thus be
provided with ample opportunity to build tunnels and create mayhem even
in Tel Aviv. Under such circumstances, it would be nothing less than
suicidal for Israel to agree to a Palestinian state.
With the additional factor of the region’s rapid descent into
barbarism and the meltdown of national borders, Israel cannot
contemplate the 1949 armistice lines as the basis for borders. It is
imperative that Israel retain defensible borders and be assured that a
Palestinian state remain demilitarized. Any suggestion of an external
international force to ensure our security must be instantaneously
dismissed. The disintegration of UN forces in Syria when confronted with
Islamic terrorists demonstrates why we can never contemplate
subordinating our security to third parties.
That does not imply the long-term abandonment of a two state
solution. We cannot retain our identity as a Jewish democratic state if
we absorbed millions of additional Arabs. We must remain committed to
achieving a separation as an ultimate goal and until that time, should
encourage greater autonomy and enhance the living standards of the
Palestinians.
Our leaders should now suspend their domestic squabbles and speak
with one voice to the world, reiterating that a quick fix is impossible
and that a Palestinian state will only be created when Israel’s
security can be guaranteed. The Americans and Europeans must be
persuaded that this approach is based solely on security concerns, not
political or territorial goals.
It is therefore unhelpful when Opposition Leader, Yitzhak Herzog,
Finance Minister Yair Lapid and Minister for Justice Tzipi Livni
continue chanting their absurd mantra that in the aftermath of
Protective Edge, Israel’s international standing is dependent on
Netanyahu seeking to negotiate a two state solution with Abbas.
In this context, we must now confront the devastating political
fallout created by our chaotic settlement policies. We have every moral
and legal right to construct additional homes in the Gush Etzion bloc.
However, the timing of the announcement of new construction in the area,
clearly motivated by short-term domestic political considerations, was
utterly irresponsible and compounded by infantile assertions that it was
a response to terrorism.
Ironically, despite all the hullabaloo, the statistics indicate
that only 500 units were constructed in east Jerusalem and the
settlement blocs.
The time has come for us to state our policy unequivocally. Other
than natural growth, we will only permit construction inside the major
settlement blocs and Jewish east Jerusalem – which all parties are fully
aware shall remain part of Israel in any future settlement. We should
stress that this conforms with assurances extended by President Bush to
Prime Minister Sharon, pledged as an incentive to encourage the Israeli
withdrawal from Gaza, in which Bush undertook that in any future
negotiated settlement, the U.S would endorse Israel’s sovereignty of
those areas which had undergone major demographic growth.
We now face daunting diplomatic challenges which will determine
whether we will be faced with another round of aggression from Hamas in
the not-too-distant future. Our objective must be to defang Hamas or at
least ensure that it is denied the opportunity of replenishing its
armaments.
In this context, the lack of support for Hamas from the Arab
world was quite remarkable. There were more pro-Hamas demonstrations in
Europe than in moderate Arab countries.
Whilst this may reflect an alignment between Israel and some
moderate Muslim countries, we should be under no illusions. We should
not anticipate any long-term alliance with Saudi Arabia, whose exported
brand of Wahhabism was the incubator for Al Qaeda and ISIS.
Egypt has been saturated over the years with anti-Semitism, but
there could be a long term identity of interest with Israel, based on
Egypt’s loathing of the Moslem Brotherhood (of which Hamas is an
offshoot) and its desire to deny regional leadership to Qatar and
Turkey.
The barbaric cruelty of ISIS and the prospect of thousands of
Jihadi fanatics returning to their homes in Europe has dramatically
heightened perceptions of the Islamic global threat. Yet the US State
Department was the first to dissociate itself from Prime Minister
Netanyahu’s bracketing of Hamas with these barbarians.
Amazingly the Europeans and belatedly even the Americans are -
currently at least - proposing that Gaza must be demilitarized for the
blockade to be lifted. There is scant likelihood that this will succeed,
but if Egypt remains determined to bring an end to the Hamas/Moslem
Brotherhood regime in Gaza, we may be pleasantly surprised for this
could represent a major boost in our efforts to make genuine progress in
eliminating the terrorist threat on our borders and moving towards a
peace settlement. However, we must remind ourselves that the primary
existential threat facing us is neither Hamas nor Jihadi terrorism but a
nuclear Iran.
Isi Leibler may be contacted at ileibler@leibler.com His website can be viewed at www.wordfromjerusalem.com.
Source: http://wordfromjerusalem.com/?p=5217
Copyright - Original materials copyright (c) by the authors.
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