WarSclerotic

Hamas leadership has decided to scale back its kite ‎terrorism campaign and it is likely to come to a halt by next ‎week, the Palestinian daily Al-Quds reported ‎Wednesday.‎

According to the report, the decision was made in an ‎effort to prevent a full-fledged clash between Israel ‎and Hamas in Gaza.‎

The terrorist arson campaign, launched in late ‎‎April, has so far decimated over 9,000 acres of ‎forest ‎and farmlands on the Israeli side of the ‎border. Incendiary kites and balloons have caused ‎millions of dollars in damage to the area over the ‎past three months and environmental experts ‎say it ‎will take at least 15 years to rehabilitate ‎the ‎vegetation and wildlife that have been destroyed. ‎ ‎

Al-Quds quoted senior Gaza sources as saying that ‎Hamas’ decision stemmed from their reluctance to see ‎Gaza, which is in a dire humanitarian state, subjected ‎to another war.‎

Hamas has therefore decided to heed the advice of ‎Egyptian officials, who warned that Israel’s ‎patience was wearing thin and Gaza’s rulers would be ‎wide to curb the kite terrorism campaign. ‎

Gaza-based terrorists fired 200 projectiles at ‎Israel’s border towns over the weekend, triggering a ‎forceful Israeli response. While an Egyptian-brokered ‎cease-fire was achieved eventually, it did little to ‎affect arson terrorism. ‎

Dozens of fires, sparked by incendiary kites and ‎balloons, scorched the Israeli side of the border on ‎Monday and Tuesday, with one balloon landing in a ‎kindergarten in the Sdot Negev Regional Council as ‎children were playing in the yard. ‎

No injuries were reported in the incident, but ‎defense officials said Israel was no longer ‎willing to contain the situation and that a military ‎campaign in Gaza was getting closer by the day. ‎

‎’We may have no choice but to topple Hamas’‎

Maj. Gen. (ret.) Gershon Hacohen, who was the ‎officer in charge of implementing the 2005 ‎disengagement from Gaza Strip, told Israel Hayom ‎that Hamas’ provocations may lead to war.‎

‎”Hamas doesn’t want a full-blown conflict, only to ‎widen the gray areas where it operates. We have to ‎be creative – not just technologically – to prevent ‎that,” he noted.‎

‎”When it comes to Gaza, Hamas is stuck. From an ‎ideological standpoint, its border riots and ‘March ‎of Return’ is about ending the ‘occupation’ in ‎Israel – something that enjoys wall-to-wall ‎Palestinian consensus. Hamas will not relinquish ‎this [ideology] and that’s why we have to act ‎forcibly in Judea and Samaria, too. When it comes to ‎Gaza, the [Israeli] interest is to maintain its ‎separation from Judea and Samaria.” ‎

Still, Hacohen said that in the event of another war ‎with Gaza, Israel may have no choice but to seize ‎control of the enclave, even if it does not ‎completely serve its interests. ‎

‎”It’s good for us that someone else, not Abu Mazen ‎‎[Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas] is ‎ruling Gaza because it undermines the EU’s pressure ‎to form a Palestinian state in the 1967 lines. This ‎is why we don’t want to topple Hamas’ regime, but if ‎we’re left with no other choice and we end up going ‎into Gaza, we may have to eliminate Hamas. ‎

“If that happens, we’ll have to be very careful not ‎to hand it [Gaza] to Abu Mazen on a silver platter. ‎It’s inconceivable that would we go in, fight and ‎eliminate Hamas, then just hand it [Gaza] over to ‎him. We’ll have to come up with something more ‎creative.”‎

He further urged the IDF to “think outside of the ‎box” with respect to dealing with kite terrorism. ‎

he cautioned against politicizing military ‎decisions, such as IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Gadi ‎Eizenkot’s position against targeting kite ‎cells comprising children, Hachoen stressed that “we ‎have to prevent any breach of our sovereignty, ‎period. This doesn’t necessarily mean killing 8-year-olds. We have to be creative and think outside ‎the box. The IDF has to find a solution to arson ‎terrorism.”‎

Former National Security Council Director Maj. Gen. ‎‎‎(ret.) Giora Eiland, for his part, said that when it ‎comes to the Gaza Strip, the only thing guiding ‎Israel should be its own interests. ‎

‎”We keep coming up with tactical solutions for the ‎situation, and that’s partially correct, but there ‎is a lack of strategic thought about our interests ‎versus reality on the ground, and whether or not our ‎actions promote Israeli interests,” he explained. ‎

‎”The reality is that, for the past 12 years, Gaza ‎Strip has been an independent state. It has a strong ‎government, clear borders, a military and foreign ‎policy. Israel is always better off dealing with a ‎state rather than a terrorist organization.‎

‎”Gaza may be an enemy state, but Israel is ‎surrounded by those and it knows how to regulate ‎its relations with them,” he continued. “Israel has ‎no territorial, economic or political interest in ‎Gaza. The only interest it has is maintaining peace ‎and security. Hamas’ interests are also simple – it ‎wants to stay in power, gain international ‎legitimacy and rehabilitate Gaza. ‎

‎”These interests are not so far apart and the ‎differences can be bridged. But to do that, Israel ‎has to engage Hamas government directly. This is the ‎only way to end the kite terrorism and secure a ‎prisoner exchange deal. Appealing to Gazans is ‎ineffective.”‎

Eiland‎ maintains that ‎”the diplomatic and security ‎price we will pay will be minor but reaching an ‎agreement will have major benefits because there ‎will be peace and quiet on the border. Given ‎tensions in the northern sector, a quiet southern ‎border is vital. That’s the only interest Israel ‎should consider,” he said.