by Amnon Lord
If Israel does not take proactive action it will become a target, or worse, a sitting duck The recent escalation on multiple fronts shows us there can be no substitute for decision-making. That, and reality bites.
With Israel asleep at the wheel, Iran has tied up all the loose ends in its ongoing campaign against the Jewish state.
Waged in the Persian Gulf, the Gaza Strip, Syria, or southern Lebanon, this campaign is nothing new. For some reason, Israel never got the sense it was losing control over the situation in recent years. Israel has become more passive over the last two months, even though over in the Gaza Strip, Jerusalem is trying to impose a new equation on the ground.
In the Israeli reality, if you do not initiate and act, you will become a target, or rather, a sitting duck. Even if the proactive initiatives do not result in unequivocal outcomes, they can still serve to ensure control of the situation, leaving the enemy deterred and maintaining a lower profile. Over the last three years, several security incidents saw Israel get close to the edge. It began with Operation Northern Shield, in which Israel destroyed Hezbollah's cross-border tunnels and continued with consistent strikes on forces in Syria.
The Israel Defense Forces knew how to prepare for counter-military action against Hezbollah and knew how to ensure these events had a clear beginning, middle, and end. This was done successfully, and usually, without any Israeli casualties.
Did the recent Israeli action end up straying from the familiar scenarios? Is this why the IDF has been so unclear in its response? All eyes are on IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Aviv Kochavi. He is the most important figure in the defense hierarchy, which also includes Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and Defense Minister Benny Gantz.
There is no doubt the Israeli government's perceived weakness has contributed to the enemy's aggression. Former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government had a strong deterrent effect on Iran and Hezbollah. Less so with Hamas. The Hamas leadership knew what to expect from Israel and recognized the borders of the front. That is why when the new government entered office, there was a sense there would be greater deterrence due to the simple fact that Hamas did not know what to expect. It's difficult to say what exactly happened, but Israel's enemies are pushing the limits of their activity. The conciliatory stance of US President Joe Biden's administration has only served to tempt these players to see just how far they could go.
Our enemies know the Biden White House does not want to get bogged down in Middle East problems. They know Israel is once again contending with an administration that is less pro-Israel than its predecessor, and they figure they have nothing to lose.
Defense Minister Benny Gantz should have taken on the leadership role, but he has shown his weakness ever since the attack on the Israeli-affiliated ship. It's not that his response has been weak, although it has appeared confused and far from lethal; there simply has been no leadership to speak of thus far. It turns out things look quite different when the person at the government's head is someone like Netanyahu. Both Kochavi and his predecessor Gazi Eizenkot looked a little taller standing on Netanyahu's shoulders. The recent deterioration indicates there can be no substitute for decision-making. That, and reality bites.
Amnon Lord
Source: https://www.israelhayom.com/opinions/government-weakness-emboldening-israels-enemies/
No comments:
Post a Comment