This semi-campaign has come to most of us out of the blue. As such, people don't sense an emergency, despite the string of assassinations of Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorists and the rocket fire in response. The deceit carried out by Israel to catch the terrorists – and Israelis by and large – by surprise, was highly successful. It once again proved that the Left has more political wiggle room to launch military operations because it can rely on automatic support from the Right.
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That said, as of Sunday noon, the campaign has very little to show for in terms of success on the ground, despite the superb preparation of the home front. There is a sense that the security establishment is calling the shots, with the political leaders taking a back seat.
The question that remains is where this is all going. The Palestinian Islamic Jihad's actions have been less than impressive, and let's hope it doesn't have a surprise up its sleeve. If the IDF plans at a certain point to enter with ground forces in order to win decisively in the Gaza Strip, it is best that it does so in surprise, which is no longer an option. Hamas warned Israel not to let Jews go up Temple Mount for Tisha B'Av but Israel cannot capitulate to such threats. Israel faces a dilemma: escalation vs. hoping that Hamas understands that we only seek to target PIJ terrorists in this campaign.
It is hard to believe that Hamas will continue to hold its fire while the smaller Iranian-orchestrated rival fights Israel on its own. If Hamas joins, the campaign will drag on for a week at least as the IDF has warned. The democratic processes currently unfolding in Israel ahead of the general election (i.e. the primaries in Likud and other parties), would consequently take a blow, and this is intolerable. This once again brings to the surface the question that Israel has tried to avoid for many years: Can we live alongside powerful terrorist organizations such as PIJ and Hamas on its doorstep while letting them determine how we live?
We cannot overlook the strategic mistake from 17 years ago: the uprooting of the Gaza settlements. The defense establishment's propaganda wing in the media failed to sound the alarm on the scenario that the Gaza Strip would turn into a terrorist base that could threaten Israeli cities from Tel Aviv and Jerusalem to Beersheba and Dimona. Such predictions were considered surreal at the time; people thought that at worse, the missiles would continue to harass the Gaza area and perhaps go as far north as Ashkelon. Yes, mistakes happen, but the IDF has yet to show its determination to root out this threat.
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