Back to Gaza
"Long range rockets, anti-aircraft, and anti-tank missiles were brought into Gaza."
Yuval Diskin, head of Israeli Security Service (Shin Bet)
As quoted in the Associated Press, Feb. 4, 2008
Hamas, and the terrorist-groups allied with the movement (Islamic Jihad, Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, etc.) have a consistent record of using whatever weapons they have against Israel. The measures Israel has used so far in trying to stop rocket attacks from Gaza ( brief military incursions and closing the border ) have not been successful. If the Government of Israel is adamant about preventing these new, more powerful weapons, from being launched into Israel, the only remaining option is for the IDF (Israeli Defense Force) to re-occupy the part of Gaza from which the attacks have been launched.
When Prime Minister Ariel Sharon abandoned Gaza to the Palestinian Authority (PA) in 2005, there was an opportunity for the PA to show that it could maintain a peaceful border with Israel. Unfortunately, the PA did nothing to stop rocket attacks into Israel during the period that it governed Gaza; since Hamas took over the attacks have intensified. Each rocket is a lethal weapon, and launching them is an act of war, which no sovereign nation would tolerate .
The current crisis, created by the destruction of the Gaza-Egypt border by Hamas in late January, has come in the midst of President Bush's efforts to restart peace talks between Israel and the PA leadership in Ramallah. The negotiations are expected to deal with the fate of Gaza, even though the PA no longer controls the Strip.
The time has come to end the "legal fiction" of a single Palestinian state consisting of Gaza and the West Bank . Although both territories were parts of larger domains (the Ottoman Empire and the Palestine Mandate), and both were governed by Israel from 1967 through 2005 (1), they have never formed a nation.
The concept of a nation whose territory lies on opposite sides of another country was tried before: remember East Pakistan and West Pakistan? In 1971 East Pakistan broke away to form Bangladesh, and India prevented Pakistani armed forces from reclaiming the region. For the same reason, Fatah was unable to prevent the Hamas takeover in Gaza last year.
Israel should now refuse to negotiate with PA on the future of Gaza. Instead, the Olmert government should issue an ultimatum to Hamas: stop the rockets or we will come in and stop them. If the rockets keep coming (as they probably will), IDF should re-occupy the part of Gaza closest to Israeli cities and set-up a new security fence there. If that does not stop the rocket-fire, unleash IDF to crush the Hamas regime completely and impose martial law in the entire Strip. The Gazans had their chance to enjoy the blessings of independence and democracy, and they blew it by attacking Israel. Now let them experience the consequences of their choices.
Of course, the United States will object to this tactic. Israel should remind President Bush of his declaration (2) that "Those who harbor terrorists will share their fate." If the Taliban regime deserved destruction in 2001, the Hamas regime deserves it now.
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(1) The Palestine Authority, established in 1993, also exercised limited power in both Gaza and the West Bank, but until August, 2005, the IDF maintained a military presence in Gaza.
(2) Address to Congress September, 2001.
Yuval Diskin, head of Israeli Security Service (Shin Bet)
As quoted in the Associated Press, Feb. 4, 2008
Hamas, and the terrorist-groups allied with the movement (Islamic Jihad, Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, etc.) have a consistent record of using whatever weapons they have against Israel. The measures Israel has used so far in trying to stop rocket attacks from Gaza ( brief military incursions and closing the border ) have not been successful. If the Government of Israel is adamant about preventing these new, more powerful weapons, from being launched into Israel, the only remaining option is for the IDF (Israeli Defense Force) to re-occupy the part of Gaza from which the attacks have been launched.
When Prime Minister Ariel Sharon abandoned Gaza to the Palestinian Authority (PA) in 2005, there was an opportunity for the PA to show that it could maintain a peaceful border with Israel. Unfortunately, the PA did nothing to stop rocket attacks into Israel during the period that it governed Gaza; since Hamas took over the attacks have intensified. Each rocket is a lethal weapon, and launching them is an act of war, which no sovereign nation would tolerate .
The current crisis, created by the destruction of the Gaza-Egypt border by Hamas in late January, has come in the midst of President Bush's efforts to restart peace talks between Israel and the PA leadership in Ramallah. The negotiations are expected to deal with the fate of Gaza, even though the PA no longer controls the Strip.
The time has come to end the "legal fiction" of a single Palestinian state consisting of Gaza and the West Bank . Although both territories were parts of larger domains (the Ottoman Empire and the Palestine Mandate), and both were governed by Israel from 1967 through 2005 (1), they have never formed a nation.
The concept of a nation whose territory lies on opposite sides of another country was tried before: remember East Pakistan and West Pakistan? In 1971 East Pakistan broke away to form Bangladesh, and India prevented Pakistani armed forces from reclaiming the region. For the same reason, Fatah was unable to prevent the Hamas takeover in Gaza last year.
Israel should now refuse to negotiate with PA on the future of Gaza. Instead, the Olmert government should issue an ultimatum to Hamas: stop the rockets or we will come in and stop them. If the rockets keep coming (as they probably will), IDF should re-occupy the part of Gaza closest to Israeli cities and set-up a new security fence there. If that does not stop the rocket-fire, unleash IDF to crush the Hamas regime completely and impose martial law in the entire Strip. The Gazans had their chance to enjoy the blessings of independence and democracy, and they blew it by attacking Israel. Now let them experience the consequences of their choices.
Of course, the United States will object to this tactic. Israel should remind President Bush of his declaration (2) that "Those who harbor terrorists will share their fate." If the Taliban regime deserved destruction in 2001, the Hamas regime deserves it now.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(1) The Palestine Authority, established in 1993, also exercised limited power in both Gaza and the West Bank, but until August, 2005, the IDF maintained a military presence in Gaza.
(2) Address to Congress September, 2001.
posted by Gerald S Glazer at 1:27 PM
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