Iraq News Now

It is uncomfortable to say and it is not what most people

want to hear. But here it is: There is no simple, easy solution for dealing

with Gaza. There is no simple short term solution and right now, in April of

2019, there is no long term solution at all.

Carpet bomb Gaza – or the variation on that theme – turn

Gaza into a parking lot. These are the two most often repeated, highly

unrealistic, mantras of the pro-Israel masses. I think people give voice to

these phrases as a coping mechanism rather than as a real suggestion. Anyone

who knows anything about Israel knows that neither of these are viable

suggestions. They know, certainly by this point, that Israel will not

indiscriminately bomb Gaza. What Israel will do – what Israel has been doing –

is attacking military sites and targeting military leaders, only those

locations and only those people.

And the result of that humanitarian decision, a decision

that does not involve the irresponsible massive killing of innocents, maintains

the status quo. Sometimes the status quo is maintained for a shorter period of

time, other times for a longer period, but always and inevitably a new crisis

erupts and the routine is played out once again.

Re-invading Gaza? Re-occupying Gaza? Not going to happen.

Not even in the realm of possibilities. No way.

We all know the pattern. Either Hamas or Palestinian Islamic

Jihad launches rockets into Israel that breaks the threshold of Israel’s

tolerance. Israel counters with a series of attacks targeting arms depots and

command and control centers. If the situation becomes more intense, Israel

attempts to target Hamas leadership. Targeting, of course, is a military

euphemism for assassinating.

IDF leadership has further plans. Those plans include

targeting and kidnapping Hamas’ senior leadership. They also include targeting,

kidnapping and arresting mid-level Hamas leadership. The senior leadership of

Hamas is in hiding. So it is easier to attack mid-level leaders who are not

scared enough to go into hiding, but who are informed and involved enough to

provide Israel with vital intel and send shock waves through the ranks. The

plans also include heavier bombing as another way of sending a strong message

to Hamas.

When Israel strikes Hamas targets, the targets are usually

obvious and almost always deserted. All Hamas personnel have long-since

evacuated and burrowed themselves deep into underground bunkers. In hopes of

not injuring innocents, Israel often alerts Gazans to where the IDF is going to

strike, affording them the time to find safer places to be.

This being a political season, politicians are decrying

Israel’s actions calling them minimal and self-defeating. But the reality is

that if those same people were prime minister right now, they would be doing

exactly as Prime Minister Netanyahu is doing, exactly what they – as

politicians and prime minister wannabes – are so vociferously criticizing.

Reserved restraint and surgical force is what is needed.

Israel is not taking the easy way out, they are taking the smart way in. Israel

is knocking out Hamas’ ability to send messages and to launch rockets. Israeli

strikes aimed at weapons factories, depots, launch areas, vehicles and motor

pools cripples Hamas and throws them off course. It might not be a banner

headline response, but Israel is seriously putting a dent and causing chaos in

the infrastructure of Hamas.

For those who hope to be prime minister, the timing of this

latest conflict with Hamas couldn’t be better. And they’re seizing the moment

and taking advantage of the situation. It even makes for good campaigning. In

an election video, Naftali Bennett from the New Right Party talks to Ismail

Haniyeh – the head of Hamas in Gaza – calls the leaders name and, in Arabic,

says: “Listen, Haniyeh, I’m not Liberman; I’m new, New Right.” The same video

would have worked for any of the potential candidates but that’s the only place

it works – on video, not in real life, real time, or in the military or defense

arena.

Israel’s response to the rockets from Gaza has been very

disciplined. Iran and Hamas did not expect a disciplined response. They

miscalculated. Iran and Hamas were hoping that rockets shot into central Israel

would have stimulated an aggressive Israeli response. They were hoping,

actually hoping, that Israel’s response would cause the deaths of many innocent

Palestinians.

In the warped world in which they exist, the deaths of

innocent Palestinians would have been a huge success for Hamas and Iran. It

would have woken up the world, via Western media, to what was happening. But

rather than seeing rockets launched from Gaza flying into Israel, the media

would have told the story of Israel killing innocents. Israel did not let that

happen.

Instead, Israel acted maturely and with restraint.

Kudos to Israel.