:
No sooner Hamas and Fatah signed a Palestinian
unity government after a series of reconciliation talks between them than a set
of lethal incidents between Hamas and Israel led to the Israeli military
launching ‘Operation Protective Edge’ on July 8, 2014.
Those lethal incidents included
the blockade of the Gaza Strip by Israel Defense Forces, the
collapse of American-sponsored peace talks, attempts by rival Palestinian
factions to form a coalition government, the kidnapping and murder of
three Israeli teenagers, the subsequent kidnapping and murder of a
Palestinian teenager, and increased rocket attacks on Israel by Hamas militants
in response to an extensive crackdown by Israeli troops on Hamas in
the West Bank.[1] On
8 July 2014, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) launched Operation
Protective Edge in the Gaza Strip.[2]
This operation follows a chain of
events that began with the abduction of three Israeli teenagers Naftali
Fraenkel (16); Gilad Shaer (16) and Eyal Yifrah (19) in the West Bank in
June 2014, for which Israel blamed Hamas. No evidence of Hamas involvement
has been offered by the Israeli authorities[3]
and Hamas have denied any
involvement in the incident.[4] The alleged murderers come from the Qawasameh clan which is notorious
for acting against Hamas as well as Israel.[5]
Since Israel withdrew from the Gaza
Strip in 2005, there have been periodic eruptions of violence between Israel
and Hamas. Hamas launches volleys of rockets into Israel and Israeli warplanes
strike targets in Gaza. This has escalated into an Israeli ground invasion
twice in the past.
In July last month a series of
rocket attacks from Gaza and in retaliation, airstrikes from Israel on Gaza has
killed and devastated innumerable buildings and properties in both sides. There
have been about one dozen tunnels in Gaza which were targets of Israel
airstrikes. On 13 July, the Israeli military reported that more than 1300
Israeli attacks had taken place, while more than 800 rockets were fired from
Gaza into Israel.[6] The next day, 14 July, Egypt announced
a cease-fire initiative. The Israeli government declared acceptance
for the proposal, and temporarily stopped hostilities in the morning of 15
July. However, Hamas rejected it in "its current form", as did other
Palestinian factions.[7] On
16 July, Hamas and Islamic Jihad offered Israel a 10-year truce,
with ten conditions, mostly centered on ending the blockade.[8]
The current conflict is the
deadliest military operation to have taken place in Gaza since the Second
Intifada although the exact number of deaths and percentage composed of
civilians has been in dispute. According to the Gaza Health Ministry, at
least 1,499 Palestinians were killed and 8,300 were injured. Among
the dead were 315 children, 166 women, and 50 elderly.[9] According to UN Office for Coordination of Humanitarian
Affairs (OCHA), as of 31 July 2014 in the Gaza Strip, over 250,000 Palestinians
have been displaced of which 236,375 are taking shelter in 88 UNRWA
schools. 1.8 million People are affected by a halt or reduction of the
water supply,[10] 136
schools and 24 health facilities have been damaged, homes of 9,395 families
have been totally destroyed or severely damaged. The destruction of Gaza’s only
power plant had an immediate effect on the public health situation and reduced
water and sanitation services, with hospitals becoming dependent on generators.
And more than 250,000 IDPs are in need of emergency food assistance.[11]
It was the start of a
three-day truce, the best hope yet to end a 25-day-old war that has taken an
enormous toll on both Palestinians and Israelis; reports Washington Post
correspondent from Gaza city, Aug. 1, 2014. Hamas and Israel are blaming each
other for the collapse of a 72-hour cease-fire that lasted only 90 minutes.
(Reuters). On Friday, Aug.1 morning, Israeli troops were in the southern Gaza
Strip preparing to destroy a Hamas tunnel. Suddenly, Palestinian militants
emerged from a shaft. They included a suicide bomber, who detonated his
explosive device. In the chaos, two Israeli soldiers were killed. The militants
grabbed 2nd Lt. Hadar Goldin, 23, and pushed him back through the tunnel,
according to the Israeli account. Within minutes, the war was back.[12]
No matter how and when the conflict
between Hamas and Israel ends, two things are certain. The first is that Israel
will be able to claim a tactical victory. The second is that it will have
suffered a strategic defeat.
At the tactical level, the success
of the Iron Dome missile defense system has kept Israeli casualties near zero
and significantly reduced the material damage from the rockets fired from Gaza.
Israel’s ground invasion, launched on Thursday, Jul. 17, will also reap
rewards. Indeed, it already has: Israeli forces have exposed and destroyed
several Hamas tunnels, including some that were intended to allow cross-border
activity into Israel and others that facilitated the movement of goods,
ammunition, and militants within Gaza itself.
But they do not equal a strategic victory. War
is the continuation of politics by other means. Wars are fought to realign
politics in a way that benefits the victor and is detrimental to the loser. The
more the Israeli attacks on Gaza, the more the sympathy-scorings for Hamas and
endangering the peace and security of Israel. Israel is winning tactically, but
losing strategically. Hamas’ strategic
objective, it seems, is to shatter Israel’s sense of normalcy. It is
not possible for Israel to exist as a flourishing and prosperous democracy
under the garrisoned conditions of persistent conflict. Many possibilities can be foreseen in the
aftermath of this war.
Being hopeless of the possibility
of peace, a sizeable numbers of Israeli Jews may emigrate elsewhere. Disagreements
over how to handle the Palestinian problem will definitely deepen, sowing
discord within Israeli Knesset and ultimately within Israeli society. Although this type of internal confusion will
not bring Israel to its knees, any erosion of Israeli power, including the
people’s reluctance, may prove to be a winning for Hamas.
This new round of violence, on the
other hand, has caused enormous disruption. Rockets fired from Gaza have
triggered warning sirens in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, Haifa, Beer Sheba—all of
Israel’s major cities. Those rockets, destroyed in the air by the Iron Dome
missile defense system, did not kill any people thus far, but they have sent
almost everyone scrambling for shelter several times a day and shattered the
illusion of peace and comfort. And that is enough for Hamas.
Also, the disproportionate number
of casualties in Israel and Gaza has made Israel appear, at least to many
Western eyes, as the aggressor. Israel’s
retaliations, which are levelling Gaza’s unreinforced buildings and leave
behind mangled bodies of kids and babies, draw media attention throughout the
world. This war is not an exercise in fairness, but in the attainment of
strategic objectives.
It has shown Israelis that, even if
the Palestinians cannot kill them, they can extract a heavy strategic price. It
has also raised the profile of the Palestinian cause and reinforced the
perception that the Palestinians are weak victims standing against a powerful
aggressor. It seems Hamas is fighting this war with Israel on a strategic
U-turn by turning itself into a sacrificial lamb for the aggressor. Hamas’
infringement of the past two peace agreements and shooting their rockets from
populous locations of Gaza cities translate their mind. Israel’s aggression is
sure to be translated into pressure on Israel by in-house politicians and
certainly by social movements in parts of the world whose objective is to
isolate Israel politically and damage it through economic boycotts.
There is not much that Israel can
do to change Hamas’ behavior. What Israel can do to prevent Hamas and
Palestinians from capitalizing on their strategic success is to review its
tactical and strategic policy that can (i) ensure its peace inside and security
on its borders, (ii) enhance its commercial viability for Western nations, and (iii)
maintain its internal social cohesion over the long haul. This may seem
difficult, but the first two decades of Israel’s national existence does not suggest
otherwise.
ISRAR
HASAN
2nd AUGUST 2014
[1] "Israel
and Hamas Trade Attacks as Tension Rises". The New York Times.
Retrieved 8 July 2014 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2014_Israe_Gaza_conflict)
[2] "IDF's
Operation "Protective Edge" Begins Against Gaza". Jewish Press.
Retrieved 8 July 2014.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2014_Israe_Gaza_conflict)
[3] Robert
Tait. "Hamas kidnapping: Islamist group to blame for youths'
'kidnapping', Benjamin Netanyahu says", The Telegraph, 15 June
2014
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2014_Israe_Gaza_conflict
[4] "Israel
rounds up senior Hamas men in West Bank sweep". The Times of
Israel. 15 June 2014. Retrieved 15 June 2014.
[5]Shlomi
Eldar "Accused kidnappers are actually rogue Hamas branch", Al-Monitor,
29 June 2014.
[6] "Thousands
Flee Gaza Homes Under Israel Threat", Voice of America, 13 July 2014;
accessed 22 July 2014. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2014_Israe_Gaza_conflict
[7] "Israel
and Hamas to observe brief Gaza truce". Aljazeera.com. Retrieved 22 July
2014. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2014_Israel_Gaza_conflict)
[8] "Report:
Hamas, Islamic Jihad offer 10-year truce". Ma'an News Agency. Retrieved 28
July 2014. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2014_Israel_Gaza_conflict)
[9] LIVE
UPDATES: IDF soldier wounded in Gaza; Palestinian death toll nears 1,400 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2014_Israel_Gaza_conflict)
[10] "Occupied
Palestinian Territory: Gaza emergency: Humanitarian Snapshot (as of 22 July
2014)". UN OCHA. 22 July 2014. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2014_Israe_Gaza_conflict)
[11] Gaza Emergency Situation Report. United
Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs: Occupied
Palestinian Territory. 31 July 2014. Retrieved 1 August 2014. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2014_Israel_Gaza_conflict)
[12] “Cease-fire
collapses between Israel, Hamas; Israeli soldier captured.” The Washington
Post, 1st Aug. 2014,
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