One of the supporters for ending the operation at present when the IDF actually achieved its goals and fatally damaged Hamas, is Maj.-Gen. (ret.) Amos Yadlin, whose opinion has been criticized by some on the Israeli right-wing. Yadlin, former IDF Military Intelligence Directorate head and one of the eight pilots who destroyed the nuclear reactor in Iraq in 1981, is known as a security hawk, is absolutely right that the operation should cease in the coming days while the IDF’s hand is on top.
While the outrageous claim arose that Yadlin had forgotten that we were in the Middle East and not in Scandinavia, all in all, the purpose of the operation was not to overthrow the Hamas regime but to achieve deterrence and severe damage to the Islamic terror organization. As everyone knows, the collapse of Hamas and the removal of the organization require ground forces entry into the Gaza Strip, a move that does not presently have widespread support from the Israeli public.
This is not because of the fear of losing the lives of IDF soldiers, but because of the knowledge that the collapse of Hamas rule means taking responsibility for more than two million Palestinians. In this context, the violent intifada of Israeli Arabs in the past week only illustrates that the Jewish state does not need two million citizens who bear hatred for Israel and who carry rooted within the desire for its destruction.
In addition, ignoring the importance of the American position as to what is happening in our region is a lack of recognition of reality. In practice, whether we like it or not, the State of Israel and the IDF are heavily dependent on American support and assistance. This is a fact Israelis must not deny.
Therefore, in all prime ministers’ broad factors of considerations – including Rabin, Sharon, Olmert and Netanyahu – Washington’s support for Jerusalem’s moves is a very important and substantial aspect. We must not forget that the State of Israel is not Putin’s Russia, which can do whatever it pleases, as the Russian intervention in the Syrian civil war has illustrated.
It is not a matter of politeness towards the Biden administration, as those on the right-wing camp have argued regarding Yadlin. On the contrary, it is the responsible and prudent conduct of the Israeli government and its leader, who recognizes that the Jewish state needs American backing while most of the world – that completely acts with double standards towards Israel and with low expectation racism toward its enemies – strongly condemns Israel’s just fight against Hamas terrorism. Therefore, once the goals of the operation have been achieved – severe damage to the Hamas organization and the terrorist infrastructure it has established in the Gaza Strip instead of acting for the well-being of the Palestinian population – it is better for Israel to stop fighting and maintain its military achievements.
TIMING IS everything. Israel should stop the operation in the coming days while Hamas is on its knees begging for a ceasefire. It is just as important that it stop before Israel falls into a case resembling that of another Qana incident that took place in southern Lebanon in 2006 when after Hezbollah missiles were launched against Israeli territory and Israel responded, there was loss of civilian lives. Such an event will force a ceasefire on Israel in unfavorable conditions and bring Hamas the victory picture it so desperately needs. Stopping is the right thing to do.
It is also important to think about the day after the operation. And here too, the criticism from the right-wing of Yadlin is unjustified. Yadlin himself has repeatedly argued in the past that the formula “quiet for quiet” is fundamentally flawed. Despite Netanyahu’s desire to prevent a situation in which the State of Israel is blamed for failing to prevent a humanitarian catastrophe in the Gaza Strip and allowed the transfer of funds from Qatar to Hamas, the latter has – in practice – only intensified militarily since the last round with Israel in 2014.
In conclusion, Yadlin is right that a ceasefire in the coming days does not mean giving up on Hamas, and that there are non-kinetic elements, such as fuel, electricity and money, which are no less effective means to use as tactics than Air Force bombs. Should the the operation continue at the present time while Israel and the IDF are positioned at the point of such an impressive military success against Hamas, ongoing fighting may only drag the Jewish state into an uncomfortable situation. This is not a concern for the Palestinians, of course.
The Palestinians are the ones who chose a terrorist organization in democratic elections and therefore must bear full responsibility for their situation. This derives from concern for the Jewish state and its ability to face more complicated and significant challenges, such as the Iranian nuclear threat, in which Jerusalem will need American backing and assistance that are so essential to Israel’s just and moral struggle against its enemies.
The writer is a PhD candidate and research assistant at University of South Wales, UK, and an adjunct researcher at the National Security Studies Center there.