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Commentary;
IDF ground action in Gaza commenced Motsei Shabbos after troops began firing artillery at Gaza targets. Are Cast Lead’s goals the destruction and eradication of Hamas or merely a “dream world” concept of “restored security” and disabusal of Hamas from terror attacks either via rockets or mortars or any other mode of attack? Will it be “a war to the bitter end”? Or is this a high-stakes stinking political maneuver with the lives of both Jewish troops and a major urban section of Israel with a collective population of approximately 800,000 on the line? And what about the freeing of Gilad Shalit?
Israel National News writer Gil Ronen interviewed a top National Union candidate who invoked King David’s Eighteenth Psalm as advice regarding Gaza:
“I will chase my enemies and catch up to them and I shall not return until I annihilate them.”
“This should be the slogan of every leader and IDF commander,” he said. “The enemy must know that whoever raises his hand against Israel, we will teach him a lesson and annihilate him as well as all his helpers and supporters, and only thus will we take out their will to fire missiles at us.”
However, he is under no illusions that the present government will do so.
Jerusalem Post editor David Horowitz seems hopeful although he defines his understanding of Cast Lead’s goals in terms of;
Creation of a new reality in which Hamas would not fire rockets into Israel; would not seek to fire rockets into Israel; would not manufacture rockets; would not produce or smuggle in the materials for manufacturing rockets; and would not engage or prepare for other acts of terrorism. If Hamas’s ability to rule Gaza was destroyed in the process, so be it.
Quite apart from the presence at the helm of a chastened prime minister, a more experienced defense minister and a quietly effective chief of General Staff, many other central factors combined to give the operation a realistic chance of success.
Caroline Glick however notes that the current government has not taken to heart the lessons of the Lebanon conflict. She writes;
George Orwell once quipped, “The quickest way of ending a war is to lose it.”
Since Tuesday it has become clear that the Olmert-Livni-Barak government has decided to end the war with Iran’s Hamas proxy army in Gaza as quickly as possible. That is, the government has decided to lose the war.
Most Israelis are unaware of this state of affairs. In an obvious attempt to bolster the popularity of Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni and Defense Minister Ehud Barak ahead of the February 10 general elections, the local media have spent the six days since the government launched Operation Cast Lead praising the government’s competence and wisdom, and declaring victory over Hamas after every IAF sortie in Gaza.
What the media have declined to notice is that the outcome of the war will not be determined by the number of Hamas buildings the IAF destroys. The outcome of this war – like the outcome of all wars – will be determined by one factor only: Which side will achieve the goals it set out for itself at the outset of the conflict and which side will concede its goals?
Depressingly, the current machinations of the Olmert-Livni-Barak government demonstrate that when the fighting is over, Hamas and not Israel will be able to declare that it accomplished its goals.
Hamas reinstated its attacks against southern Israel on December 19. It did so after a six-month hiatus that it used to restock its arsenals and strengthen its military forces. As it resumed its terror offensive against Israeli cities, Hamas announced that it will continue its current round of terror war until it wins full control over Gaza’s land and sea borders.
Israel, for its part, has been less clear in stating its operational goals. Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, Livni and Barak have said that the goal of Operation Cast Lead is to compel Hamas to end its attacks against Israel, but they haven’t said how they intend to affect that outcome. They have rejected Hamas’s demand for control over Gaza’s land and sea borders and in turn demanded that Hamas end its weapons smuggling operations across the Egyptian border.
Somewhat disconnectedly, the Olmert-Livni-Barak government has demanded that in the event it reaches some sort of mediated accord with Hamas, an international monitoring force must be deployed to Gaza to enforce its terms. Since Wednesday, this appears to have become Israel’s main demand in relation to any mediated cease-fire talks with Hamas.
And so, ground troops now become a factor along with aerial bombardment. We can only hope that we don’t see embarrassing prime ministerial scenes like this one from the Lebanon conflict regarding an attack by Israel where the Islamics claimed a massacre of over 50, later to be disproven by both the IDF investigations and blogospheric findings.
We pray that with Divine Help, even this bumbling, bungling regime emerges with purely a clear, decisive military victory, but without national political spoils. But, with the abject absence of expression to Anshe Gush Katif of clear, sincere, heart-felt and evidentiary contrition, this author notes that Glick’s assessment of a replay of international troops stationed in Gaza may be closest to on-the-mark. MB
Fire with Hamas Gunmen Inside Strip, by Yaakov Katz (Jerusalem Post)
Ground Troops Move into Gaza, by Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu (Israel National News)
IDF Begins to Fire Artillery Shells into Gaza Strip
Tens of Thousands Called to Reserves
3 Hurt as Rockets Hit Buildings in South [34 Rockets Over Shabbos, 36 on Friday]
IDF Destroys Rocket Launcher Operating in Refugee Camp Cemetery
Bank Website [Bank Discount] Hacked by Islamist Group
Report: Israel Hit Mosque, Killed 14 [Apparently Another Weapons Storage Facility]
Summary of Today’s Events (IDF Spokesperson)
Several[Ashkelon] Buildings Damaged in Saturday Attacks
Only Missile Alerts on Radio Darom during Shabbat
Be’er Sheva Chief Rabbi: ‘Pikuach Nefesh’ Law Sabbath
IAF Continues to Strike Hamas Targets in Gaza
Summary of Overnight Events (IDF Spokesperson)