The Israeli newspaper Haaretz declared in its editorial that despite Israel’s military superiority, deterrence against Palestinian groups is not effective and achieving the ambition of the Israelis to disconnect the West Bank from the Gaza Strip is still very difficult.
Here is the text of the article translated word for word:
After two days of attacks, airstrikes, house demolitions, dozens of rockets fired from Gaza and shelters inside Israel, we can say that “the message has been delivered”. As usual, Israel made it clear that it would not tolerate any threats to the lives of its citizens. Thus, Prime Minister Yair Lapid passed his first fiery test and proved once again that the “center left” can carry out military operations. Egyptian mediators were quickly brought in to broker a ceasefire, and now all we have to do is call the end of the round.
Israel found itself in the current confrontation after the capture of Islamic Jihad’s media-turned-head Basam al-Saadi, which in turn prompted Islamic Jihad to plan a counteroffensive against Israel that imposed a near-total shutdown of Gaza residents. . Envelope.
Although the country has repeatedly failed to achieve its goals, the automatic military response has changed in terms of its consistent mode of operation. Multiple rounds of combat have taught us that despite Israel’s military superiority, deterrence is not effective. Given the war on “terrorism”, the ambition of cutting off the West Bank from the Gaza Strip is very difficult to achieve. Earlier, people lost their trust in the slogan of “Israeli army ready for any scenario” and the demand to weaken the “terrorist infrastructure” can no longer be seriously discussed.
Hence, combat operations crowned with hopeful and proud names such as “Dawn”, “Protective Edge” or “Pillar of Clouds” are actions primarily aimed at securing the credibility of the governments that launched them. A platform for empty declarations and empty promises.
This round of conflicts made it clear that instead of Israel’s violent dialogue with organizations in Gaza, precisely diplomacy, increasing the number of work permits, the import of goods and construction materials from Israel and Egypt, and the transfer of money to pay salaries, which repeatedly succeeded in periods of calm. to prolong
Israel, which has announced that there is no date for the end of the operation, has exhausted its military response and must join the diplomatic efforts mobilized by Egypt to stop the fire and restore normal life to the residents of Gaza. margin
Source: Lebanon Debate
