WarSclerotic

Gaza Should Not Divert Israel From Iran – Al-Monitor: the Pulse of the Middle East.

By: Amos Gilboa. Translated from Maariv (Israel).

The picture of reality as I see it at present consists of three layers. The base layer is that of Israel vis-à-vis the Palestinians. In this context, Israel is at war with two Palestinian entities. One of these two territorial, governmental and ideological entities is the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip, which for several years now has been waging a ruthless war of incessant fire, violence and terror against us as far as its capabilities allow it. From time to time. it needs calm and a pause for the purpose of acquiring even more capabilities and more lethal ones.
The other entity is the Palestinian Authority led by Abu Mazen [Mahmoud Abbas] in the Judea and Samaria territory. Unlike the Hamas entity, that of the Palestinian Authority does not advocate violence, has no religious ideology and is considered moderate (although, as a matter of ideology, it is unwilling to commit itself to the principle of “two states for two peoples;” and since it negates the recognition of the Jewish people, it is only ready to voice support for “two states”). At the same time, it is waging a bitter political battle against the state of Israel and conducts a relentless vilification campaign against the state, while its younger generation is brought up on hatred for Israel.

All the same, the Palestinian Authority is obviously preferable to Hamas and it is in the interest of the state of Israel to prevent Hamas from gaining control over the Palestinian Authority. It is interesting, though, that the entity under the leadership of Abu Mazen has no relevance to the fierce war carried on by Hamas, has nothing to do with what is going on at present in the Hamas entity and is unlikely to bear in any way on the outcome, whatever it may be, of Operation Pillar of Defense, while the Hamas entity has no relevance to the political war waged against us by Abu Mazen.

The second, higher tier of the picture is that of the surroundings. In the north, the menacing military front of Syria, Hezbollah and Iran is in the process of collapsing. In the south there is the religious Egyptian regime, which is hostile to Israel; right now, however, it is facing its real challenge. It can opt for either of two main alternatives: maintaining the status quo with Israel, which means among other things, restraining Hamas, or adopt the uncompromising ideology and the slogans of the Tahrir Square. As to Israel, it has the opportunity now to influence the choice made by Egypt.

The upper tier of the three-tier picture is the threat of a nuclear Iran, which is looming ahead. These very days the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has reported that Iran is swiftly advancing towards acquiring nuclear capability. In my opinion, our [Israel’s] considerations in the current conflict with Hamas, as well as in our relations with Egypt should all be derived from our supreme interest, that is, to create the most favorable political and strategic conditions for coping with the Iranian nuclear threat.

All this leads us to consider the broader picture with respect to Operation Pillar of Defense. There has been a lot of hot air recently about the likelihood that US President Barack Obama will settle accounts with us following his reelection to the presidency. These rumors testify more than anything else to the wishful thinking of their originators and to their narrow-minded view of the world. Obama is acting in the light of the American interest, which regards Hamas as a terror organization. He and his administration have unequivocally taken sides with the state of Israel, to the dismay of the [Israeli daily newspaper] Haaretz and its followers in the media.

Once Operation Pillar of Defense got underway, the pundits were quick to tell us that it was quite unlike Operation Cast Lead [of 2008-09]. And why? Well, they explained, because at the time we [Israel] enjoyed international legitimacy, and foreign heads of state were rushing to Jerusalem, and for good reason, as the Israeli government was engaged then in a political process vis-à-vis the Palestinian Authority led by Abu Mazen, whereas at present there is no political process to talk of. However, as you may recall, the world leaders who hurried to visit us back then did so to exert pressure on us to pull back from Gaza. What’s more, the by-product of Operation Cast Lead was the Goldstone Report [issued by the United Nations Fact Finding Mission on the 2008-2009 Gaza Conflict], and the concessions made by then-Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert in an attempt to conciliate Abu Mazen were not of much help.

This time around, we enjoy the support of the European governments, first and foremost thanks to the care taken by the IDF [Israel Defense Forces] to prevent casualties among the Palestinian civilian population. I have the feeling that not everybody here [in Israel] is happy with this and that there are those among us who crave to see photos of slain Palestinian families and to witness an all-out attack on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ehud Barak by the international community and domestic elements alike. We can only hope that this time too they will be disappointed.

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