When discussing the best plans of action for dealing with the wave of terrorism, a clear distinction must be made between the method of operation and the goal. In dealing with Palestinian terrorism, we are facing a serious strategic challenge and three major tactical challenges that typify the terrorism that Israel has been experiencing recently. The discussion on a wide-scale military operation obviously deals with tactical challenges, as everyone knows that the political-strategic confrontation cannot be solved by a military operation, like that proposed in northern Samaria.
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The tactical challenges include the targeting of Hamas attacks from abroad and Gaza; youth terrorism (the "Lion's Den" and the like) from frustrated and leaderless Palestinian youngsters, who are fed up with the Palestinian Authority's formal leadership and are looking for a new and violent way to fulfill their nationalism; and the loss of the Palestinian Authority's security control in northern Samaria, with the weakening of its institutions.
An extensive military operation in northern Samaria will not provide a solution to all these challenges. It will not deal with Hamas' meddling from abroad and Gaza. On the contrary, it might worsen the Palestinian Authority's situation by further weakening its security systems (which will improve Hamas' chances of expanding its grip in Samaria).
We must plan the next military operation, and not the previous one; deal with current problems, not those from last year. This means using common sense to make decisions, based on the current situation and guiding the security forces accordingly – even when our blood is boiling after severe terrorist attacks. The attacks should not be directed at those who are the easiest and most convenient targets, but the painful damage should be focused on the major centers of gravity; the perpetrators of the attacks.
Israel must now take the following steps:
- Continuing activities to counter terror and harming the perpetrators of terrorism – based on pinpointed intelligence, with resolve and while constantly trying to avoid collateral damage.
- Close cooperation, as much as possible, with the Palestinian Authority against Hamas. Israel is clearly interested in the Palestinian Authority not collapsing – as the alternative is much worse.
- Regarding Hamas in Gaza – continue exacting a heavy price from terrorist organizations for every breach of sovereignty and the use of steep-trajectory projectiles.
- Faced with Hamas activity in Lebanon and Syria – Israel must think "out of the box" and maintain confidentiality.
- In dealing with Hezbollah and Nasrallah who are trying to connect the theaters – Israel must act in a way that will surpass their expectations and surprise them. This was not done after the last round of firing from Lebanon, which apparently Hezbollah is not responsible for, but it most likely approved the settings that made it possible.
Faced with external challenges that have not lessened in recent months, Israeli society requires sophistication, responsibility, and a broad consensus. The basic condition for all of this, before all others, is the restoration of social unity and the cessation of self-inflicted wounds that we are perpetuating with the continuation of the endless focus on judicial reform. Now is the time for compromise and the fusion of rifts that will allow us to focus on our enemies, who are currently watching from the sidelines and rubbing their hands together with glee.
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