The choices ahead for Israel
As the war in Gaza continues into its seventh week, the hostages are still not home and Hamas keeps firing rockets at Israeli cities, it’s not too early or premature to contemplate the end of this war, the image of victory is now more timely than engaging in exit strategies and day-after scenarios.
Unlike the common military and strategic thinking reigning since Hamas came to power in Gaza (2007), this time – at least for Israelis but not necessarily limited to Israel – the war should end decisively, leaving no room for Hamas to remain in power and regain military capabilities.
There is a clear understanding in many like-minded countries – the US is one but not the only one – that the war should end not only with renewed deterrence like in previous confrontational cycles, but with Hamas out of power, defeated and disarmed and never in the position to threaten Israel again. One should only remember Hamas’ brutality against their own people in coming to power to understand the nature of its ideology and the danger of Hamas to Israelis and Palestinians alike.
President Biden’s words are clear, the war “will end when Hamas no longer maintains the capacity to murder, abuse, and do horrific things to the Israelis.”
President Biden is not alone harboring this view, we should not be surprised, regardless of public statements, most Arab countries in the neighborhood are of the same position. Hamas can’t be managed or contained, Hamas should be totally uprooted and broken. Only then victory will be accomplished.
For Israel, after October 7, there is no other alternative but ending the war in a way that victory will be beyond doubt, decisive and sealed in the personal and collective regional consciousness in Gaza as well as on Israel’s other fronts. An undecided outcome of the war in Gaza will encourage Iran and its proxies to test Israel further and engage it in a war of terror attrition. Israel shouldn’t tolerate it.
Like many other war theaters in history, the war in Gaza is not just between Israel and Hamas; in a way it’s a war between Israel and some of Hamas’ supporters. The way this war is decided will determine the future of Israel, the future of stability and normality in the Middle East. It should now be clear that Israel’s enemies are a global threat.
One should only remember Hamas’ brutality against their own people in coming to power to understand the nature of its ideology and the danger to Israelis and Palestinians alike
In winning the war, Israel’s most serious challenge facing Israeli policymakers is bringing the hostages back home and conducting a relentless war in line with international humanitarian law, a war which is not about vengeance but survival. Nothing less. A war which is not against the Palestinians but against terror and its infrastructure. Israel’s inevitable victory is, therefore, a second independence. It’s our crucial challenge, there’s no other way. Israel’s victory may prove in time an opportunity for the Palestinians and the region.
In reaching this strategic goal, Israel is called upon to use caution and time in waging the war; as much as international legitimacy is important in modern warfare, the world can’t expect the war to end with no clear outcome or with frequent humanitarian pauses which will allow Hamas to hold to power.
There should be no doubt, an outcome which will keep a weakened Hamas in power will usher in time another war. Hamas is not part of any future solution. Hamas is an obstruction to life, coexistence or even a future of peace, an enemy to both Palestinians and Israelis.
It is not a PR message saying that in this war, Israel’s victory is the world’s victory against tyranny, against oppression, we can expect the world to react the same as after September 11. In this war, the moral responsibility is to support Israel in its war as it is a just war (bellum justum). In this war, world international solidarity with Israel is a sine qua non.
In fighting this war, which caught us by surprise on October 7, Israel’s inner solidarity, strength and social cohesion may have surprised many observers. It is the spirit of the nation which will bring us victory. This spirit will stand with us as we meet many other domestic challenges which lost their precedence and priority in the national agenda.
This spirit and motivation in the frontlines by the soldiers, many of whom are part of the reserve army, and at the home front is another important consideration in decision making. No nation, no people, no one can be expected to live under such a threat, fear of being kidnapped, murdered. Fear for themselves or their families.
In fighting this war, we fight not just to win, to uproot terror and eliminate Hamas, but to bring back a sense of security, a feeling of safety in one’s own home. If Hezbollah’s Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah portrayed Israel as a spider’s network and others are dreaming of Salah ad-Din’s battle of Hattin (1187), they would discover that this nation’s spirit is stronger than what they have thought. Strong in the face of any threat, strength which is our most important weapon.
