Israel’s Difficulties in Claiming Victory in Gaza
Most of world outside the US, especially on the Arab street, will see the Gaza ceasefire as a gain for Hamas whatever the spin put on it by Israel and its supporters.
Billions of Chinese, Indians and Africans will likely agree with the Arab street. In today’s globalized world, this would be a sorry result for Israel’s existential struggles.
Few people outside the West understand the justice of Israel’s biblical right to Palestinian land or the legality of its war fighting. All understand televised images of utter destruction and mothers crying over dead children. They also understand the despair of Gaza’s rockets fired blindly just to show that defiance is not entirely snuffed out.
Perhaps, as Israel says, Hamas is the worst thing that ever happened to Gaza’s people but the invasion has strengthened its political power instead of weakening it. The military strength will return in due course, making Israelis unsafe as ever.
Israel did not score a clear victory.
In today’s remorseless world, that is almost the same as being defeated. To outsiders, the war has demonstrated that the Gaza Palestinians, both civilian and militants, also see their war against Israel as existential and are willing to suffer for it.
Hamas made sure of that by not being the first to cave in. It announced its separate ceasefire over 12 hours after Israel’s unilateral declaration. That time was the minimum needed to bring under control all the disparate clans and factions trying to fight Israel in Gaza.
It gives Hamas the additional prestige of having proven that it does substantially control all fighters and clans in that territory, including those that oppose its political ascendancy or its Islamist beliefs.
Hamas underscored its ability to stand up and continue to fight in unity with other factions by limiting the ceasefire to the one week needed for Israeli troops to withdraw safely. In effect, it has made staying Gaza’s hand conditional on Israel staying its hand.
Israel, the European Union (EU), Egypt and the Fatah-dominated Palestinian Authority may try to portray the ceasefire as a draw or even a victory for Tel Aviv. But the Arab street and many in European streets will not give it much credence.
Other people in China, India and Africa who are less familiar with the Jewish people’s historic suffering will also find it hard to see what safety Tel Aviv achieved through this war.
Of course, there is huge relief everywhere that the carnage is halted. But it is well known that Hamas had declared clear objectives: it would not stop fighting unless Israel stopped first, the land routes to Gaza would have to be reopened and Gaza should be free to advance its economic rehabilitation.
All three things seem to be happening step by slow step. Israel on the other hand said it wanted to end rocket attacks on its cities and make future attacks impossible by sealing off all possible means for Hamas to reacquire weapons.
The ceasefire so far does not create those conditions for Israel. Any violent faction in Gaza can fire rockets against it unless Hamas is allowed to reassert dictatorial control over all of Gaza’s crowded territory. That means strengthening the civilian and police primacy of Hamas.
Further, it is impossible to seal off resupply of weapons if the land routes from Egypt are reopened. There are no reliable means of ensuring that weapons and explosives are not hidden among humanitarian and civilian resupplies brought into Gaza by thousands of trucks.
Reconstructing the physical devastation of Gaza will require massive supplies. Each crate cannot be verified. Israel has obtained special US technologies to spot tunnels and electronically survey containers transported overland. But the crossing points will remain unsophisticated for months making it impossible to check each transported object.
Given the intense hatred for Israel among all Palestinian factions, it is futile to hope that weapons shipments can be choked off completely. Even if 5% get through, they will be enough to give Hamas and others the capacity to fight another day with weapons more modern and accurate than those they use currently.
The ordinary people of Gaza might wish that Hamas never existed because its recklessness visited the misery of Israel’s sledgehammer upon them. Yet, inevitably, they will feel much greater hatred for Israel than they will for Hamas.
There is no simple way of controlling chaos within Gaza in the immediate aftermath of Israel’s withdrawal without allowing more Hamas control. The people of Gaza are likely to reject any bid by the West Bank Fatah to rule them since many blame its leadership for supporting the invasion.
If Fatah wants to control Gaza, it will have fight Hamas street by street in Gaza. Israel may have depleted Hamas’s supply of rockets but the light weapons needed to fight Fatah are still there.
Fatah’s people in Gaza are as broken as those of Hamas after the Israeli assaults. Unless fresh Fatah fighters enter from the West Bank to conduct this fratricidal war, dethroning Hamas in Gaza has become less likely for the moment.
Overall, it looks like this existential war was almost useless for the peaceful daily life of Israelis. Their fear can only become worse after their enemies have had time to breathe a little even if Israel continues its usual mix of economic blockades and military strikes.
7 Responses to “Israel’s Difficulties in Claiming Victory in Gaza”
india is not aware of jews suffering?
just a few weeks ago, terrorists entered india, went to a chabad house and blew everyone away…just for being jewish
it is time for israel and the jews of the world to accept one fact…no matter what they do…they will be hated
in early january, muslim leaders sent a letter to the english pm, warning them of violence due to the gaza incursion, urging them to divest.
then, violence occured towards jews and jewish facilitities
when fnally the house of commons stated their disgust at these blatant acts of jew hatred…the muslim leaders chose to write a letter to the pm's which was then sent to all mosques, condemning this violence….THE EXACT SAME VIOLENCE THAT THEY SAID WOULD OCCUR, AND DID NOTHING TO STOP.
tell me, during all the wars, the acts of terrorism, the murder of jewish innocents…how many mosques or muslims were attacked by those of the jewish faith…either in europe or the uk?
the jdl committed some terrorism…they ended up in prison and were denounced by jewish leaders
enough is enough
Israel and stopping the HAMAS rocket attacks, and punishing HAMAS for its misdeeds:
Why did Israel stop? Does this make Israel look strong or weak? It matters not what its stupid enemies outside of Gaza, stupid (and at times, evil) enemies world-wide, think of its defensive measures. Does its decision to stop make it look strong or weak? Why did it stop? Did it believe it was incapable of achieving a complete cessation of HAMAS rocket attacks, so it wanted to stop before Obama took office?
If HAMAS fires even one more rocket, how does Israel look then?
what a bunch of horse apples. The whole thing was orchestrated by Bushco's operatives (aka “Israeli generals) in order to piss of Iran and get them to do something stupid. Just like kids on a playground. When it backfired, Iran didn't react and Israel looked stupid, then they “had” to quit for the inaugeral bash in the US.
What a load of fertilizer. If you think this was about some religious crapola, you'd better get your head examined. No jew would bomb on the Sabbath. This was about Bushco's outgoing wishes to finally stir up a reason to invade Iran. Time to clean house in the CIA.
Sil – you truly are mentally ill.
is sil going to be allowed to continue to post blatantly ignorant and anti semetic screeds?
when it comes to self defense, a jew is allowed to desecrate the sabbath
one of the days during the operation, was the 10th of tevet…a minor fast day in the jewish religion
the head rabbi of israel instructed all soldiers to not fast, as fasting would put their lives at risk, as it causes weakness
dls,
why did israel stop? worldwide pressure
the arabs have mastered the art of pr
of course, their pr is to parade bodies of wounded and dead children…never mind how they were wounded or killed….just get those pics out there
no one likes to see dead kids
never mind that hamas has sent children as young as 13 out on suicide missions or that they use children as young as 9 as lookouts, or that they have used children as human shields
never mind that hamas does fire from the areas where there are schools and civilian shelters…that doesnt matter
just get those pics of dead kids out there
israel cannote compete with this type of pr, because they (like all western countries) have respect for their dead and wounded and their families, and would never do the same
i only pray that obama doesnt fall for these tactics and sees hamas for what they really are…a dangerous terrorist org bent on the destruction of israel and of doing teherans bidding
Uuncle Jew40 you sound like you had 1300 people fm your family killed and 4000 (among which half are kids and women) badly injured some of them with phosphore bombs (Internationally prohibited weapons). I think the 1 billion donation from Saudi Arabia should go to Israel because they suffered a lot of self esteem damage because of the Gaza “war”. this is patehtic!
Same old jewish disc. We (the Jews) people chosen by god (which one?) as his best children are so “good” and “nice” and “smart” and so on…that all others “GOYS” want to exterminate us … Oh my god! what a shame
The Jews are not western nor eastern, they are everywher and nowhere, they are like a product advertisement. when they need to increase sales they increase the time it shows on TV . the jews of today have no origin because interestingly the bloodline of a jew is based on the mother not the father, that's why they are basically untraceable genetically and historically since their progeniture takes the name of the father in 95 % of the world laws.
Also you have to know Jew40 that all what is happening in Palestine by the so called Semites or Arians or chosen people to the GOYS like us is taught in their TORAH “sacred” book that relates the episodes of YOSHA who is in Islam a righteous servant of GOD (the true one) and in your TORAH a warriors going from palestinian city to another burning, killing and exterminating their progeniture (that' why more than 50 % of the casualties among Gazans were women and their progeniture) and you can ask your Rabbi (when he is alone and sure that you are a Jew like him) about this or simply go ahead and read your TORAH full of lies and blasphemy to GOD and his messengers (Jesus not being spared)