While a ceasefire may provide a temporary panacea, it means nothing when it involves terror organizations such as Hamas. Israel must quit the policy of retaliation that has often been more harmful than helpful, and start a policy of eradication instead.
By AVI PERRYMasked Hamas terrorists 311 (R)(photo credit: Mohammed Salem / Reuters)
Hamas or one of its sister-terrorist organizations initiates a terror attack. Israel retaliates, most often by bombing empty structures; the terrorists respond with rockets aimed at the Israeli civilian population; Israel retaliates, then threatens critical punishment. Hamas declares ceasefire and Israel concurs. And then—a replay of the same episode.It's a vicious cycle.RELATED:Hamas-run Gaza now threatens Israeli-Egyptian peace Something is awfully wrong with this picture. Hamas is the one calling the shots. They initiate cycles of violence; then, when the heat rises in their kitchen and makes them sweat, they terminate them. And the Israeli government’s policies of retaliations constituting measured responses appear impotently reactive in the face of the Gaza terror machine. In fact, Israeli passive policies of measured responses, supplemented by empty threats concerning the endgame, provide a strong incentive for another round whenever these blood-thirsty terrorists feel dehydrated.
What’s more, ceasefires declared by Hamas are not genuine ceasefires. They are more like volcanoes that emit small bursts of ash and lava on a daily basis, but that are ready to erupt in a massive fireworks show at any given moment.If you reside in close proximity to a volcano, you are likely to develop a permanent anxiety disorder. The fear of terror that comes with the misfortune of living within Hamas' target range is intolerable; no one should be subjected to that kind of living.Israel should end its policy of retaliation. Retaliation is an emotionally satisfying act that under nearly all circumstances serves as grounds for a counteract that fuels a vicious cycle of revenge. It is analogous to inflicting a minor injury on an adversary - a superficial gash that doesn't cause any permanent disabilities.As long as the enemy is able to rebound and get back on their feet, retaliation only serves to fire up their emotions even more. At the same time it enhances their popularity among their peers, and often provides a sense of justification that transforms their criminal acts to heroic martyrdom.While a ceasefire may bring comfort and hope in the short term, when Hamas is the side controlling its activation and culmination it only energizes and emboldens the terrorists.The solution to the recent flare-up does not therefore lie in negotiating a Hamas-style ceasefire.It’s time to plan for the longer term: Israel must recapture the initiative out of Hamas’s hands and refuse to gamble with their unstable moods. Retaliation must be abolished and replaced with eradication. Israel must put a stop, once and for all, to the constant threats that Palestinian terror organizations pose it.History has shown that a lasting peace following a bitter war has a better chance of success when the enemy is forced into an unconditional surrender, as demonstrated by World War II. When wars do not end with the absolute defeat and surrender of the enemy - as as the case with the Arab-Israeli wars - any pursuant peace deals or ceasefires are unstable at best.To say the least, a policy of eradication will generate massive criticism and resentment by those around the world who label themselves as "civilized;" They will lament over "disproportionate response," or the lives lost belonging to innocent civilians caught in the cross-fire. But the benefits gained from such preventative measures will far outlive the memory of any fury incurred globally. Furthermore, the world will always criticize Israel for something or other, and this sad fact should never be a deterrence.The government should not wait for a disaster to occur before it realizes that retaliation is a useless policy that perhaps even worsens matters. The only way to end this vicious revenge cycle is to implement a policy of eradication that will stop the attacks from occurring in the first place. No doubt this will be a difficult decision to undertake for all policy-makers, especially those that claim to be proponents of "measured responses."But it must be remembered that terms like "measured response" do not exist in the lexicon of enemies such as Hamas. Furthermore, when push comes to erupt, the safety and security of Israel's citizens will always precede the safety and security of its enemies. The writer is currently a talk show host at Paltalk News Network (PNN). He served as an intelligence expert for the Israeli government and was a professor at Northwestern University. He is the author of Fundamentals of Voice Quality Engineering in Wireless Networks, and more recently, 72 Virgins. Both books can be purchased at
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