Many nations want Hamas to be disarmed, but the Israel Defense Forces will doubtless be left to do the dirty work. It is a task of paramount importance.
By Moshe Arens, HAARETZ | Aug. 4, 2014 | 1:32 AM |
There is a long list of countries that would like to see Hamas in Gaza disarmed. To rid this terrorist organization and its terrorist ally, Islamic Jihad, of the labyrinth of tunnels they have dug under the Gaza Strip, housing its command and control centers, its supply depots, and which serve as launching points for attacks against Israeli cities, towns and villages. To rid it of the thousands of rockets still in its possession, after having launched more than 3,000 rockets against Israeli civilians during the past four weeks, and of the manufacturing facilities for these rockets.
This list is obviously headed by Israel, which has had to deal with this arsenal of weapons in the hands of Hamas and Islamic Jihad, and will have to contend with it in the future unless Gaza is demilitarized.
But in addition, there are many countries who realize that the existence of this arsenal in the hands of terrorist organizations in the Gaza Strip constitutes a ticking time bomb that may go off at any moment and threaten the stability of the entire region. Among them are many of the region’s Arab countries, foremost among them Egypt. And, not surprisingly, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas would like nothing better than to see the Gaza Strip demilitarized. But who is going to bite the bullet and demilitarize Gaza?
It is not going to be the United Nations, and it will not be Abbas. The hope voiced here and there that Hamas will disarm, within the framework of a political agreement between Abbas and Israel, is a pipe dream. Or that, in return for large-scale economic assistance to Gaza, Hamas will abandon its war against Israel.
Hamas will not give up its weapons arsenal and terrorist infrastructure of its own free will. And none, except for Israel, is going to come forward to force Hamas to disarm. Only the Israel Defense Forces can demilitarize the Gaza Strip. If the IDF does it, it may well be applauded in many quarters, but it will have to do it alone.
It is a task that has to be accomplished quickly. The longer it takes, the more casualties there will be among the Palestinian population in Gaza; the greater the demands to put an end to the tragedy of the Palestinian population there by an immediate cease-fire – even if the task of disarmament has not been accomplished; and the higher the probability of another round of fighting and more tragedy in the future. Speed is of the essence.
By now, everyone has been disabused of the idea that terrorist organizations can be deterred from attacking Israel. The Cast Lead and Pillar of Defense operations, which did not finish the job – in the expectation that, after Hamas had been hit, it would be deterred from additional attacks against Israel – were sufficient proof of that.
The failed strategy that “quiet will be met with quiet” has hopefully been left behind. And one more concept that has been disproved in past operations against Hamas, as well as in the first eight days of Protective Edge, is that Hamas can be defeated by air power alone – it takes a ground operation supported from the air.
The success of the Iron Dome anti-missile interception system seems to have led to the conclusion that the primary danger Hamas poses to Israel is the underground tunnels leading from the Gaza Strip into Israel.
Actually, they are only one part of the Hamas offensive against Israel. To them must be added Hamas’ arsenal of rockets that send millions of Israeli civilians to the shelters daily, and Hamas’ command structure underneath Gaza hospitals, schools, mosques and UN facilities, directing the war against Israel.
Until this terrorist infrastructure is destroyed, Hamas attacks against Israel will continue.
Should Israel show itself to be unable or unwilling to complete the task of destroying Hamas, even those who have shown understanding and support for Israel in this war will lose patience and demand, with some justice, the cessation of hostilities that do not seem to be leading anywhere.
A number of arguments have been proposed against handing Hamas a total defeat. Most fall apart after scrutiny. The one that most impresses many Israelis is advanced as a question: What shall we do after we have defeated Hamas? No doubt, there will be many possibilities when the time comes, but let’s get there first.
The writer served as Israel’s Minister of Defense three times and once as Minister of Foreign Affairs.
diana Said:
Well said!!! It requires persistence on the part of Israel to continuously make her case to the international community and a determination to completely defeat Hamas. No pain no gain!!
so, the Jewish Comm. in the USA and the rest of the world should demand from Obama and Kerry to demilitarize Gaza and then start “peace talks”
Step 1 of demilitarization: No cement or metal into Gaza until the rockets are delivered to the Egyptian border!. If they refuse as they obviously will ask the Palestinians to throw them out. If they can not or will not that leads us to:
step 2. If they shoot one rocket we blast them with 100 missiles and artillery fire. Two or more rockets the IDF flattens a neighborhood in the closest city.
If they keep firing cut Gaza into sections first by destroying Rafah and taking controlling the Philadelphia corridor to keep them from resupplying. If they do not stop firing and surrender all weapons, destroy one neighborhood at a time from the air and with artillery. Herd the civilians into one neighborhood until Hamas surrenders or is decapitated.
Find if possible locations for these people to go. Give them some funds and a boat trip to their destination. No Israeli resident cards. They need to leave. Less people on both sides will die. This is a population exchange as 750,000 Jews were evicted from the Arab countries they had lived in previously. The Greeks and Turks exchanged populations after world war I.
He appears to avoid the question that he admits “impresses most Israelis”.
If Israel can maintain the blockade, with Egypt, then a siege can result in their ultimate surrender. Also, the conditions will encourage gazans to leave. Sooner of later hamas will have to face their own civilians and feed them. The only problem as always will be US pressure.
If Israel and the world want to have terrorist Hamas and Islamic Jihad defeated, disarmed and Gaza demilitarized, it is better to do it now than in the future.
The countries that forced Syria to give up on its chemicals and others should force Hamas to be disarmed, give up all of its arms and then have Gaza demilitarized. Why wait for another war in which chemicals, more dangerous missiles potentially may be used? Why should Israel be subjected to terrorists Attacks any more unlike any other country in this world?
At least 25 warnings of rockets salvos fired against Israel fro Gaza tapping Ma’ale Adumim in the Y ^ S area to all the sea shore plain.
Terrific. Just five minutes before another famous “cease fire”.
The Aesop frog styled generalitos and Netanyahu really took care of Hamas…
I wonder… Who will do that.
Regardless Mr. Arens intimation, the IDF has repeatedly proven that it is incapable or unwilling to defeat HAMAS or Hezbollah, and it will take nothing less than that to force Hamas to surrender and disarm. Am I missing something so far?
Since defeating Hamas was before and is now or will be in the future a condition a priory to disarm it, why then did the powerful IDF did not defeat Hamas before the fancy labeled operation and disgrace ended up where it is? I mean, hundreds of lives were lost and now “we” have to go back to do WHAT?
Netanyahu-Peres-Livni-Peretz et al flimflam generalitos will never terminate Hamas or anyone else, except Jewish villages and people. The later the renegades will attack to destroy and only that.
Netanyahu run from Hamas as Livni-Peretz-Barak and others run from Hezbollah during the Lebanon II war.