1.
We've spoken of conquest before, yet decades of psychological conditioning still make the term feel like a burning coal on the tongue.
There are four types of conquest:
From Gaza we withdrew entirely, even exhuming our dead. The Gazans chose to turn it into a fortress of terror, dedicated to our destruction. Even though we were no longer there, they still considered us occupiers.
In Judea and Samaria (the so called "West Bank"), the Arabs live under their own rule, while Israel maintains a security envelope to prevent another Gaza. These are the biblical heartlands of the Jewish people, and yet we are still labeled occupiers.
In Israel proper, a significant portion of Arab citizens do not recognize Israel as the nation-state of the Jewish people. They have full citizenship rights and vote in Knesset elections, but from their leadership's perspective, it is a necessary evil, like prisoners voting for the prison management. In the historical narrative many hold, even within the Green Line, Israel is an occupying force.
And then there's Jordan. The overwhelming majority of its citizens are Arabs who are not part of the Hashemite monarchy, or Bedouin tribes. They are Palestinians. The monarchy arrived from the Hijaz region of Saudi Arabia about a century ago. Unlike in Israel, where a majority rules, in Jordan a minority rules the majority. Yet no one calls it an occupation. Because when there are no Jews involved, it is not news, and it is not considered occupation.
2.
Now, the discussion is about a full conquest of the Gaza Strip, or more accurately, of the remaining quarter of it still under Hamas control. If we want quiet in the years ahead, we must bring Gaza to the status of Judea and Samaria. It will not bring complete peace, but it will end the rocket threat and allow preemptive disruption of terror cells. Judea and Samaria were also abandoned after the bloody Oslo Accords, and only after years of horrific attacks did we retake control during Operation Defensive Shield in 2002.
The combination of Jewish pioneers in the highlands, constant IDF presence, and Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) intelligence from the field. ensured that on October 7, Palestinian Authority officers and civilians did not join Hamas terrorists.
Wars do not end with declarations; they end with realities on the ground. If we accept Hamas' terms and withdraw, leaving it in power, it will be seen as a victory - by Hamas, and by the region's tribes, clans, and other terror groups. It would validate Hamas' bet that refusing to compromise on the hostages would pay off. Hamas will rebuild, while Israel will hesitate to attack, and next time it will abduct even more Jews, having found its insurance policy for impunity.
3.
Historically, October 7 was the tragic climax of a political and military process that began 30 years ago, when Israel decided to revive the Palestine Liberation Organization after it had become a diplomatic pariah for backing Saddam Hussein's invasion of Kuwait. From international outcast and hired killer, Yasser Arafat was transformed into a Nobel Peace Prize-winning statesman, thanks to the grand deception known as the Oslo Accords.
The underlying belief was that the Palestinians would prefer life to war and destruction, and therefore would accept territorial compromise. In summer 2005, we unilaterally withdrew from Gaza, turning southern Israelis into hostages. The truth is, until October 7, there was neither domestic nor international legitimacy for a preemptive strike against Hamas, or Hezbollah, despite their existential threats.
4.
On October 6, Israel still failed to grasp the scale of the existential threat: Hamas had built a vast terror fortress on our border and was preparing for invasion. Hezbollah was also preparing an assault from the north with 150,000 rockets. Armed terrorist militias roamed the Syrian border. In a moment of Israeli weakness, Palestinian Authority police and Israeli Arab nationalist criminals could have joined the attack. All this happened under Iran's watchful eye and with its missile and nuclear capabilities as backing.
Israel had fallen asleep. The words of the prophet Isaiah (29:14) came true: "The wisdom of its wise will perish, and the intelligence of its intelligent will vanish."
From the lowest depths of the war that was forced upon us, from the October 7 collapse, we steadily climbed to historic achievements. First, we chose to conduct the campaign patiently and in stages, avoiding multiple simultaneous fronts. Initially, we dismantled Hamas' military capabilities. Today, Hamas has only scattered guerrilla forces left and poses no threat to Israel beyond the Strip.
Next, we struck preemptively against Hezbollah in the brilliant "Beepers" operation, which included eliminating Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and most of the terrorist group's command echelon, nearly neutralizing the organization entirely.
5.
With Hezbollah's collapse and Iran weakened and forced to focus on Israel, Syrian rebels overthrew the Assad regime. Then came Operation "Rising Lion" in which we stripped Iran of its assets, first and foremost its image as a regional power. It turned out to be a paper tiger. We crippled its missile and nuclear production capabilities and exposed its lack of air defenses. The Shiite Crescent, once stretching from Tehran through Baghdad and Damascus to Lebanon and the Mediterranean, was obliterated.
If our mouths were filled with song like the sea, it still would not suffice to express the magnitude of these achievements. From the darkest abyss of October 7, we rose to the pinnacle of regional power. We restored deterrence. Our enemies echoed the biblical words: "Observe them carefully, for this will show your wisdom and understanding to the nations, who will hear about all these decrees and say, 'Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.'" (Deuteronomy 4:6)
The account with Iran is not yet settled, we will have to complete that mission. But now, the mission to complete is Gaza.
6.
Hamas has no intention of returning the hostages. That is the unanimous assessment of all parties involved in negotiations. Why would they return them? The hostages are Hamas' insurance policy. Based on their captivity, Hamas is demanding an end to the war, full Israeli withdrawal, and continued rule. In other words: surrender.
The dilemma is cruel but necessary. A full conquest of the Gaza Strip may endanger the hostages. But keeping them in their current conditions also risks their lives, especially when we know Hamas intends to hold onto them for years as leverage, deterring future Israeli military action as the organization regains strength.
If we postpone the task and accept Hamas' surrender terms, we will repeat the same pattern that led to October 7: endless delay in addressing a festering threat until it becomes deadly. The price of eliminating it later will be much higher.
We are already at war. All that remains is to conquer and cleanse the remaining quarter of the Strip from Hamas presence. Now is the time. Advance. Advance. Finish the job.
