Gaza’s
status as the victim will win it large helpings of cash from the Arab oil
kingdoms and European states. This money will fund the reconstruction of its
civilian infrastructure and destroyed houses. Of course, just as happened with
the cement that entered the Strip in previous years, some of this money – if
not the majority of it – will be diverted by Gaza’s rulers into rebuilding the
tunnels and factories that make the rockets. In a few months, the tunnels
leading into Israeli territory will resume operation and the missile stockpiles
will be replenished, perhaps with new and improved homemade models (or even
smuggled ones).
Therefore,
the next war will surely come. It will come in another year or two, or perhaps
even sooner, because Hamas wants to eradicate the State of Israel (if not to
eradicate all Jews, at least in the Middle East), and also because Palestinians
in general, as a nation, want the State of Israel to disappear. It’s not
pleasant to say this, because many people prefer not to hear it. But even a
brief glance at the Hamas charter (1988), the Fatah charter (1964) and the
Palestinian National Covenant (1964) – which was never replaced by an
enlightened, conciliatory covenant, as Yasser Arafat promised – proves it.
After
1948, 1967, 1973 and 2000-2005, the Palestinians understood that the Arabs
aren’t capable of destroying Israel in one blow. Perhaps an Iranian bomb will
succeed in doing so in the future, but they can’t count on it. Thus, they
adopted a tactic of taking partial but frequent bites that, over time, will
gradually weaken the Jewish state.
Our
talented young people will move to Berlin or California, tourists and foreign
investors will stay away, and potential immigrants will stay where they are, or
head for more attractive shores. Who would want to raise his children in a
country under constant missile fire, even if, for the moment, very few rockets
actually hit their targets? And who would want to tour or invest in a country
battered by terrorism?
Just as
the Muslims gradually wore down the Crusaders and finally defeated them, so too
the Palestinians will wear down and defeat the Jews and, in the end, they’ll
return to their places in the Diaspora.
The
Israeli government was dragged into the current war against its will. It didn’t
prepare for it, but it received a golden opportunity – with comfortable
political, international and regional circumstances (Hamas “started it”; they
rejected a cease-fire; Egypt is with us; Europe is busy with Ukraine) – in
which to destroy Hamas and clean out Gaza.
But the
government preferred to take the easier route and exit with “quiet in exchange
for quiet,” i.e., a tie, which means continued bouts of violence with Hamas. In
recent decades, Israeli governments and the Israeli people have turned into
carbon copies of the West: All they want is peace and to hide their heads in
the sand; there’s no willingness to sacrifice soldiers (and no willingness to
exact a heavy price in blood from the enemy’s civilians), even if it’s clear
that the price today – in terms of both our soldiers and their civilians –
would be lower than it will be in the future.
That’s
what happened in recent years over the issue of Hamas’ attack tunnels.
Successive governments knew about them, but opted not to take action against
them – perhaps they’ll disappear on their own; let the next government deal
with them, and so forth. The same thing happened to us over Iran’s nuclear
project, and Judgment Day is approaching.
This is
a large part of the explanation for Israel’s weakness in the various Gaza operations
that have brought us to this point – the same weakness that guarantees the next
round will happen very soon. This weakness is very similar to America’s policy
of appeasement under President Barack Obama’s governments, which wound up
weakening the status of the United States, and the West as a whole, throughout
the world.
What
should we do next time? The answer is clear and well known. All that’s needed
is the courage to start down this path and the determination to finish the job.
It won’t be either easy or quick. We’re talking about reoccupying the entire
Gaza Strip and destroying Hamas as a military organization, and perhaps also as
a political one (it’s reasonable to think that destroying Hamas’ army will
badly weaken Hamas as a political movement).
This
will require months of combat, during which the Strip will be cleansed,
neighborhood by neighborhood, of Hamas and Islamic Jihad operatives and
armaments. It will exact a serious price in lives from both Israel Defense
Forces soldiers and Palestinian civilians. But that’s the price required of a
nation like ours, which wants to live on its own land in a neighborhood like
ours. After gaining control of Gaza, it must be hoped that some moderate Arab
power, perhaps the Palestinian Authority, will take over the reins of
government.
There
are good reasons to destroy Hamas. It seeks to kill us. Every day it fires
rockets at our cities. And it kidnaps and murders whenever it has the chance.
Destroying Hamas will strengthen the moderate Palestinian forces and might even
advance the possibility of peace. Destroying Hamas will make it easier for
Israel when the moment comes to deal with Iran’s nuclear program. It might even
deter Hezbollah from embarking on a war against Israel. But at the very least –
if and when war breaks out – the IDF will face one less front. Ultimately,
destroying Hamas would probably also reduce the desire to confront us in the
West Bank and Israeli Arab towns.
The
Israeli government must prepare both the Israeli people and its allies for the
next round. Western leaders understand the nature of the Islamic enemy – from
the Philippines through India and Pakistan, Somalia and Nigeria, Dagestan and
Iraq, and all the way to Paris, Madrid and London – very well, even if they
generally prefer to bury their heads in the sand and avoid using the word
“Islam” explicitly.
By
showing them the Hamas charter and Hamas spokesmen and Hamas actions, it’s
possible to convince many people that Israel is facing a branch of this same
all-out enemy of the West and Western culture – the enemy whose branches
include Boko Haram, Al-Qaida and the Islamic State (formerly ISIS) – and that
defeating it serves both Israel’s interests and those of the entire West.
