Eitan Ben-Eliyahu, Yoav Galant and Yaakov Amidror, all former senior IDF officers, took part in a panel on Channel 2 on Thursday and said the Gaza Strip could be taken via a ground incursion. Amidror, who for a long time was Israel's national security adviser -- and was considered to have moderate views -- seemed to have had a change of heart, saying a ground incursion was necessary. It is, in fact, possible that Operation Protective Edge will come to that. One can only hope that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon and IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Benny Gantz are promoting the possibility of a ground operation in Gaza, as the threat alone bolsters Israel's position, even if Israel eventually decides against acting on it, just as Netanyahu and Ehud Barak's threat to strike Iran's nuclear program played an important part in the formulation of international sanctions against Tehran. But should Israel really breach the hornets' nest in Gaza? Too many people have a short memory. On the sixth day of the Second Lebanon war in 2006, which ended in defeat, then-Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni suggested a way for Israel to remove Israel from the line of fire. She begged then-Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's associates to get her -- the foreign minister -- a meeting with Olmert. But he avoided her, suggesting she meet with the director-general of the Prime Minister's Office instead. He may still regret that to this day. After the surprise strike that launched Operation Cast lead in 2008 and after several days of fighting, then-Defense Minister Ehud Barak and IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi sought to halt the operation. Olmert would not hear of it. And while the initial blow left its mark, the latter part of the operation resulted in damage to Israel's international standing, and to the Goldstone Report. Operation Pillar of Defense in 2012 was more successful. Hamas was dealt a serious blow, the IDF sustained no casualties, but anyone who wanted to eliminate Hamas knew that such achievements would be limited. This time, Netanyahu has vowed to use an iron fist against Hamas, but to the chagrin of Channel 2's commentators, he did not elaborate, and he was right not to go into detail. The IDF embarked on Operation Protective Edge with vast intelligence. The scope of strikes has exceeded that of Operation Pillar of Defense, which noted good results at low costs. However, the military has had to deal with two issues, as noted Wednesday by former Military Intelligence chief Maj. Gen. (ret.) Amos Yadlin: Hamas has burrowed underground, so to some extent it is harder for the IAF to neutralize rocket launchers; and for now the government is preventing certain kinds of military tactics, for political, humanitarian and public diplomacy reasons, which in turn slows down the destruction of buildings housing weapon mills. As of now, Operation Protective Edge is forging ahead on full throttle, and the complexities of a ground incursion can be avoided at this time. This is why the cabinet refrained from debating a wide-ranging ground operation during its Thursday meeting, opting instead to discuss a potential limited move that will only be ordered if it proves absolutely necessary.
