WarSclerotic

Translating Hamas, Israel Hayom, Zvika Fogel, August 21, 2014

To stop us from being surprised, it would not hurt us to hire a Hamas translator. The collapse of a cease-fire is an Israeli expression that is not part of Hamas’ vocabulary. More than once, Hamas has shown us that fire is an inseparable part of its negotiating strategy, and that the Israeli strategy of “quiet will be met with quiet” leaves Hamas with the initiative and the ability to decide when to fire.

Anyone surprised by the foiled Hamas plot to overthrow the Palestinian Authority in Judea and Samaria or the fact that Hamas is continuing to fire rockets at Israel despite the massive damage inflicted in Gaza does not understand Hamas’ raison d’etre, as is clearly written in its hateful charter: “There is no solution to the Palestinian problem except by jihad. The initiatives, proposals and international conferences are but a waste of time, an exercise in futility.” A simple translation of this is: “There is no place in Palestine for the Jews or Mahmoud Abbas. The Jews must be killed or expelled and the Palestinian Authority must be replaced.” Anyone who thought for a moment that the issue of an airport and seaport in Gaza could be pushed back to the next stage of a cease-fire agreement did not realize that, for Hamas, this issue was not simply one part of the deal, but rather its main component, as part of the group’s overall goal of establishing Hamastan.

The attempt to assassinate Hamas military wing chief Mohammed Deif was the first step on a correct path that will divert Hamas from the organized plan it has been following almost undisturbed throughout Operation Protective Edge. The goal the Israeli government must set is that there will not be another round of fighting in Gaza after this operation is over. The government must also allow the military and security services to expand their target list to include Hamas civilian leaders, who have allowed Gaza residents to be crushed under the boots of the Hamas military wing. Gaza residents have been exploited as human shields for rocket fire and cynically used for propaganda purposes and the bolstering of the feelings of depression and deprivation from which Hamas draws strength.

Time is short. Summer is coming to an end and the High Holy Days are approaching. Operation Protective Edge proved that we have someone to rely on, that we have skilled, brave and determined soldiers.

If the military and security services are properly prepared and able to prevent surprises on the home front, and if they can avoid mistakes while also showing creativity and boldness, then I have no doubt the we will have a new year filled with apples and honey.

This entry was posted on August 21, 2014 at 6:07 PM and is filed under Uncategorized. You can subscribe via RSS 2.0 feed to this post's comments. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.