All out of options in Gaza - Stan Goodenough - http://jerusalemwatchman.org/2014/07/all-out-of-options-in-gaza/
'Then Israel will know that he is the LORD their God'
Now also many nations have gathered against you,
Who say, "Let her be defiled,
And let our eye look upon Zion."
But they do not know the thoughts of the Lord,
Nor do they understand His counsel;
For He will gather them like sheaves to the threshing floor.
"Arise and thresh, O daughter of Zion;
For I will make your horn iron,
And I will make your hooves bronze;
You shall beat in pieces many peoples;
I will consecrate their gain to the Lord,
And their substance to the Lord of the whole earth." (Micah 4:11-14)
Thus says the Lord God: "When I have gathered the house of Israel from the peoples among whom they are scattered, and am hallowed in them in the sight of the Gentiles, then they will dwell in their own land which I gave to My servant Jacob. And they will dwell safely there, build houses, and plant vineyards; yes, they will dwell securely, when I execute judgments on all those around them who despise them. Then they shall know that I am the Lord their God." (Ezekiel 28:25-26)
On Gaza and Operation Protective Edge, the world is full of experts who know what Israel should do, what Israel can do, and how Israel should do it.
Pundits vie in their columns with strongly held opinions of what Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is capable of and what he isn't. Israeli and foreign journalists parse Bibi's political proclivities - mostly through negatively biased eyes - (this the particular mien of the left) - and denigrate his leadership even if the way he behaves (showing restraint, winning international support) - earns some resentful recognition.
Solutions being sought; ceasefires being called for; tired old lines being rehashed - witness US Secretary of State John Kerry's assertion earlier this week that the current hostilities only prove how essential it is to resurrect the peace process that was so recently declared dead in the water.
One ceasefire was accepted by Israel but violently spurned by Hamas.
A second, 10 year long 'ceasefire' was proposed by Hamas, but derisively ignored in Jerusalem.
At the time of writing, a third, five hour 'humanitarian' ceasefire will reportedly go into effect as at the UN's request, Israel - which Ha'aretz defense analyst Amos Harel says "is being more careful about preventing civilian casualties in the Gaza Strip than the United States was in Iraq and Afghanistan" (July 16, 2014) - agrees to allow relief aid into Gaza.
Whatever sequence of events now plays out, the first ceasefire did not take. Time will tell whether that is good or bad, but the sense, instinctively, is that it is "better than bad."
According to a poll carried out by Israel's Channel Two television station on July 15, a clear majority of Israelis was against a ceasefire with Hamas Tuesday.
At the same time, reported Israel National News, "a majority of respondents were pessimistic about Operation Protective Edge bringing an end to the rocket fire from Gaza."
Fully 92 percent believed that the operation would not end the rocket fire.
The same poll found that 53 percent were satisfied with Netanyahu's leadership and performance in the operation.
"Results of the poll were made public as Netanyahu threatened a full ground invasion in the event that escalation from Gaza continues," continued the report.
Late the following evening (July 16), according to an unnamed 'high-ranking military official' in the IDF quoted in both the New York Times and the Times of Israel, that ground incursion into Gaza was looking "very likely."
"The military official said only 'boots on the ground' could eradicate terrorism from Gaza and indicated that Israel was even considering a long-term reoccupation of the coastal territory."
"Every day that passes makes the possibility more evident," the official said. "We can hurt them very hard from the air, but not get rid of them."
When all has been said and done, Israel has four apparent choices (possibly more) with Gaza. None of them are rosy and none of them guarantee what Israel would term success.
The Jewish state can:
* Defer biting the bullet by continuing its hi-tech, pinpointed pounding from the air of the terrorists' infrastructure in Gaza until Hamas is ready to accept a ceasefire. This will continue to somewhat degrade Hamas' military capability, thereby securing southern Israel - all of Israel, actually - months or perhaps even a year or two of quiet on the Gaza front at least. (She can't, however, relax her vigil of nuclear-pursuing Iran's proxies to the north and northeast - this other gun to our head, fronts that could open at any time, especially as Israel is being left with no choice but to personally deal with the Iranian threat.) But Israel will know full well that it will need to return to square one to re-impose the calm from the air periodically, with more operations like Protective Edge and Pillar of Defense. And Israel will know that, between each ceasefire and subsequent outbreak of new hostilities, the enemy will be restocking and upgrading its weapons caches so that the future incursions will be even more painful for Israelis and more bloody for the Arabs, and will provoke more condemnations from an increasingly antisemitic and anti-Israel (it's the same thing, of course) world. And eventually, taking this route, Israel will have to send in the army.
* Bite the bullet and send troops in now in an effort to deal a more effective and long lasting blow to the enemy's capabilities, knowing that soldiers will be killed and wounded, and that the IDF will eventually have to withdraw under pressure, ceding the ground once again to Hamas et al, and rendering almost pointless the lost lives of those troops who paid the ultimate price for a temporary invasion and 'clean up.' This, then, will also take us back to square one.
* Bite a bigger bullet and invade to retake the entire Gaza Strip - an operation that IDF planners hold will take 'just weeks' - in the process losing soldiers, possibly quite a number of them, no matter how well trained and prepared for this the chief of staff believes them to be - then spending the ensuing months rooting out the Hamas and its sister terrorists (with more Israeli casualties), killing their leaders, imprisoning or expelling their members, blowing up their tunnels, destroying their rocket and other arms caches and then remaining there, returning Gaza's Arabs to life under military administration in an effort to ensure the terror groups cannot proliferate in Gaza again. But then what?
* Bite the biggest bullet of all - one that will hurt terribly now but will be most likely to save Israeli lives and secure Israel's future for the foreseeable future: pulverize Gaza from the air (I'm talking carpet bombing). Yes, using its 'knocking on the ceiling' approach to warn Gazans of the impending strikes, but then employing 'Arab rules' to send an uncompromising message to the 'Palestinians' and to the Arab world in general (and, by the way, to the rest of the international community) that the Jewish state will no longer play the nice guy with its enemies - even though it will be nicer than nice to those who choose to be its friends - that there is no future way to go along this road. This will lead to massive global condemnations of Israel (so what else is new?), trigger antisemitic outbreaks in diverse places (it's already happening), boost the BDS movement (let them go ahead and make Israel's day - this nation can surmount that type of blackmail) etc.
Following either of the last two options, Israel could extend its sovereignty over Judea, Samaria and Gaza, resettling Gush Katif, expelling all Arabs who refuse to swear an oath of allegiance to the Jewish state, and withholding automatic citizenship for those who stay - granting them permanent residency with the provision that the minute they do support any form of jihad against Israel they are out. The international outcry would be a tsunami. Israel would be dragged to The Hague.
As a friend says, "I can't even remotely see this happening unless Israel is on the receiving end of something horrible that just pushes all her buttons..."
Slowly but surely Israel is being delegitimized; its operations in Gaza have brought it nearer to being turned into a pariah state (the way apartheid South Africa once was).
Then what? When, politically speaking, Israel no longer has any friends left in the world (more or less the case today), and with the pro-Israel Christian world pathetically ineffective in this arena, what will Israel then do?
Voices of reason are crying out that people are being killed. War is horrible. It is a fact. People are being killed and more will be killed.
Even Israeli super-dove and 'crusader for peace' President Shimon Peres had to acknowledge this. In an interview on July 15 published by the Associated Press, the about-to-retire Israeli president admitted that while the killing of civilians by air raids on Gaza presents a moral dilemma, scant alternative remains as long as the Islamic militants refuse to stop sustained rocket fire against Israel.
"There is a moral problem, but I don't have a moral answer to it," he lamented.
Where should the blame be laid for the deaths in Gaza this past two weeks since Operation Protective Edge?
Some, at least should be apportioned to those who insisted on a ceasefire to end Operation Pillar of Defense in 2012.
And where should the blame have been laid for the Gazans killed in that conflict?
Surely at least some of those who insisted prematurely on a ceasefire at the end of Operation Cast Lead in 2008 are responsible?
Likewise, as admirable as the motives may be of those insisting on imposing a ceasefire, they will not be able to disconnect their actions from the even greater number of casualties that will result when hostilities resume once more.
There are no easy answers to this reality. Assessed realistically, in this broken world in which we live, there are no manmade answers at all.
It's been a long, long time coming but, in the not too distant future, Israel will arrive at a place where not even its renowned ingenuity will be able to generate the security solutions it needs.
The encouraging and hope-filled light in the midst of this dark scenario is that Israel's dilemma is by Divine design.
According to the Word of God, the Jewish people have been restored to the land of Israel in order that God can reveal His greatness to them and, through them, to the rest of the nations of the world.
While there are increasingly few man-made answers to the political and military quandaries in which Israel finds herself, there are - there always have been - heavenly answers.
And Heaven's ways are sure.
'Then Israel will know that he is the LORD their God'
Now also many nations have gathered against you,
Who say, "Let her be defiled,
And let our eye look upon Zion."
But they do not know the thoughts of the Lord,
Nor do they understand His counsel;
For He will gather them like sheaves to the threshing floor.
"Arise and thresh, O daughter of Zion;
For I will make your horn iron,
And I will make your hooves bronze;
You shall beat in pieces many peoples;
I will consecrate their gain to the Lord,
And their substance to the Lord of the whole earth." (Micah 4:11-14)
Thus says the Lord God: "When I have gathered the house of Israel from the peoples among whom they are scattered, and am hallowed in them in the sight of the Gentiles, then they will dwell in their own land which I gave to My servant Jacob. And they will dwell safely there, build houses, and plant vineyards; yes, they will dwell securely, when I execute judgments on all those around them who despise them. Then they shall know that I am the Lord their God." (Ezekiel 28:25-26)
On Gaza and Operation Protective Edge, the world is full of experts who know what Israel should do, what Israel can do, and how Israel should do it.
Pundits vie in their columns with strongly held opinions of what Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is capable of and what he isn't. Israeli and foreign journalists parse Bibi's political proclivities - mostly through negatively biased eyes - (this the particular mien of the left) - and denigrate his leadership even if the way he behaves (showing restraint, winning international support) - earns some resentful recognition.
Solutions being sought; ceasefires being called for; tired old lines being rehashed - witness US Secretary of State John Kerry's assertion earlier this week that the current hostilities only prove how essential it is to resurrect the peace process that was so recently declared dead in the water.
One ceasefire was accepted by Israel but violently spurned by Hamas.
A second, 10 year long 'ceasefire' was proposed by Hamas, but derisively ignored in Jerusalem.
At the time of writing, a third, five hour 'humanitarian' ceasefire will reportedly go into effect as at the UN's request, Israel - which Ha'aretz defense analyst Amos Harel says "is being more careful about preventing civilian casualties in the Gaza Strip than the United States was in Iraq and Afghanistan" (July 16, 2014) - agrees to allow relief aid into Gaza.
Whatever sequence of events now plays out, the first ceasefire did not take. Time will tell whether that is good or bad, but the sense, instinctively, is that it is "better than bad."
According to a poll carried out by Israel's Channel Two television station on July 15, a clear majority of Israelis was against a ceasefire with Hamas Tuesday.
At the same time, reported Israel National News, "a majority of respondents were pessimistic about Operation Protective Edge bringing an end to the rocket fire from Gaza."
Fully 92 percent believed that the operation would not end the rocket fire.
The same poll found that 53 percent were satisfied with Netanyahu's leadership and performance in the operation.
"Results of the poll were made public as Netanyahu threatened a full ground invasion in the event that escalation from Gaza continues," continued the report.
Late the following evening (July 16), according to an unnamed 'high-ranking military official' in the IDF quoted in both the New York Times and the Times of Israel, that ground incursion into Gaza was looking "very likely."
"The military official said only 'boots on the ground' could eradicate terrorism from Gaza and indicated that Israel was even considering a long-term reoccupation of the coastal territory."
"Every day that passes makes the possibility more evident," the official said. "We can hurt them very hard from the air, but not get rid of them."
When all has been said and done, Israel has four apparent choices (possibly more) with Gaza. None of them are rosy and none of them guarantee what Israel would term success.
The Jewish state can:
* Defer biting the bullet by continuing its hi-tech, pinpointed pounding from the air of the terrorists' infrastructure in Gaza until Hamas is ready to accept a ceasefire. This will continue to somewhat degrade Hamas' military capability, thereby securing southern Israel - all of Israel, actually - months or perhaps even a year or two of quiet on the Gaza front at least. (She can't, however, relax her vigil of nuclear-pursuing Iran's proxies to the north and northeast - this other gun to our head, fronts that could open at any time, especially as Israel is being left with no choice but to personally deal with the Iranian threat.) But Israel will know full well that it will need to return to square one to re-impose the calm from the air periodically, with more operations like Protective Edge and Pillar of Defense. And Israel will know that, between each ceasefire and subsequent outbreak of new hostilities, the enemy will be restocking and upgrading its weapons caches so that the future incursions will be even more painful for Israelis and more bloody for the Arabs, and will provoke more condemnations from an increasingly antisemitic and anti-Israel (it's the same thing, of course) world. And eventually, taking this route, Israel will have to send in the army.
* Bite the bullet and send troops in now in an effort to deal a more effective and long lasting blow to the enemy's capabilities, knowing that soldiers will be killed and wounded, and that the IDF will eventually have to withdraw under pressure, ceding the ground once again to Hamas et al, and rendering almost pointless the lost lives of those troops who paid the ultimate price for a temporary invasion and 'clean up.' This, then, will also take us back to square one.
* Bite a bigger bullet and invade to retake the entire Gaza Strip - an operation that IDF planners hold will take 'just weeks' - in the process losing soldiers, possibly quite a number of them, no matter how well trained and prepared for this the chief of staff believes them to be - then spending the ensuing months rooting out the Hamas and its sister terrorists (with more Israeli casualties), killing their leaders, imprisoning or expelling their members, blowing up their tunnels, destroying their rocket and other arms caches and then remaining there, returning Gaza's Arabs to life under military administration in an effort to ensure the terror groups cannot proliferate in Gaza again. But then what?
* Bite the biggest bullet of all - one that will hurt terribly now but will be most likely to save Israeli lives and secure Israel's future for the foreseeable future: pulverize Gaza from the air (I'm talking carpet bombing). Yes, using its 'knocking on the ceiling' approach to warn Gazans of the impending strikes, but then employing 'Arab rules' to send an uncompromising message to the 'Palestinians' and to the Arab world in general (and, by the way, to the rest of the international community) that the Jewish state will no longer play the nice guy with its enemies - even though it will be nicer than nice to those who choose to be its friends - that there is no future way to go along this road. This will lead to massive global condemnations of Israel (so what else is new?), trigger antisemitic outbreaks in diverse places (it's already happening), boost the BDS movement (let them go ahead and make Israel's day - this nation can surmount that type of blackmail) etc.
Following either of the last two options, Israel could extend its sovereignty over Judea, Samaria and Gaza, resettling Gush Katif, expelling all Arabs who refuse to swear an oath of allegiance to the Jewish state, and withholding automatic citizenship for those who stay - granting them permanent residency with the provision that the minute they do support any form of jihad against Israel they are out. The international outcry would be a tsunami. Israel would be dragged to The Hague.
As a friend says, "I can't even remotely see this happening unless Israel is on the receiving end of something horrible that just pushes all her buttons..."
Slowly but surely Israel is being delegitimized; its operations in Gaza have brought it nearer to being turned into a pariah state (the way apartheid South Africa once was).
Then what? When, politically speaking, Israel no longer has any friends left in the world (more or less the case today), and with the pro-Israel Christian world pathetically ineffective in this arena, what will Israel then do?
Voices of reason are crying out that people are being killed. War is horrible. It is a fact. People are being killed and more will be killed.
Even Israeli super-dove and 'crusader for peace' President Shimon Peres had to acknowledge this. In an interview on July 15 published by the Associated Press, the about-to-retire Israeli president admitted that while the killing of civilians by air raids on Gaza presents a moral dilemma, scant alternative remains as long as the Islamic militants refuse to stop sustained rocket fire against Israel.
"There is a moral problem, but I don't have a moral answer to it," he lamented.
Where should the blame be laid for the deaths in Gaza this past two weeks since Operation Protective Edge?
Some, at least should be apportioned to those who insisted on a ceasefire to end Operation Pillar of Defense in 2012.
And where should the blame have been laid for the Gazans killed in that conflict?
Surely at least some of those who insisted prematurely on a ceasefire at the end of Operation Cast Lead in 2008 are responsible?
Likewise, as admirable as the motives may be of those insisting on imposing a ceasefire, they will not be able to disconnect their actions from the even greater number of casualties that will result when hostilities resume once more.
There are no easy answers to this reality. Assessed realistically, in this broken world in which we live, there are no manmade answers at all.
It's been a long, long time coming but, in the not too distant future, Israel will arrive at a place where not even its renowned ingenuity will be able to generate the security solutions it needs.
The encouraging and hope-filled light in the midst of this dark scenario is that Israel's dilemma is by Divine design.
According to the Word of God, the Jewish people have been restored to the land of Israel in order that God can reveal His greatness to them and, through them, to the rest of the nations of the world.
While there are increasingly few man-made answers to the political and military quandaries in which Israel finds herself, there are - there always have been - heavenly answers.
And Heaven's ways are sure.
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