Strike and seek a solution
The Israeli trio at the helm of Operation Protective Edge sat before television cameras on Tuesday and got picked on alternately by the Left and the Right -- it was the very essence of demagoguery. On the Left was journalist Gideon Levy's incitement against the Israeli Air Force, followed in the distance by Meretz MKs, and on the Right was Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman's unprecedented nonsense -- instead of explaining to the world how wise and just Israel's policies are, he complained to the Israeli public about how incompetent the government is.
Government watchdog Ometz suggested on Tuesday that Attorney-General Yehuda Weinstein launch an investigation into Levy's alleged defamation of IAF pilots in an opinion piece published in Haaretz newspaper -- but nothing will come of it. The same is true of the fact that in any normal administration, Lieberman would have been kicked out of the government for his critical remarks at the height of rocket attack against the country -- nothing will come of his comments either.
On Tuesday, when the first Israeli civilian was killed since the onset of the Gaza campaign, the easiest thing to do was engage in demagoguery. If Israel can topple the Hamas regime in Gaza Strip, there is reason for a ground incursion. But if that is not possible without a coalition that includes Egypt, Jordan and Saudi Arabia, then a ground incursion would simply be a return to the same mistaken reasoning that led former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert to send the Israel Defense Forces into the unnecessary and bloody battle at the Saluki crossing on the last Saturday of the Second Lebanon War in 2006.
If a ground operation leads to, at best, blocking off several underground tunnels, that is certainly important. But just like targeting Hamas rocket-launching sites from the air, it only gives Israel the important time and space it needs to prepare for the next operation -- it does not provide a real solution. I do not think that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon and IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Benny Gantz, who all have impressive military backgrounds (as does Economy and Trade Minister Naftali Bennett), need to do any ranting to prove they are not afraid.
Moreover, those on the Right who are now urging Netanyahu and Ya'alon to order a ground incursion will be the first to be out for his political blood, should any Israeli soldiers be killed in battle. You can only risk lives in a secure, stable operation. Operation Defensive Shield in 2002 was a sure thing. But can Lieberman and Likud MK Miri Regev convince IDF commanders that a mission into Gaza would be similar? And why is a ground incursion preferable to supporting the suggestion that will be raised at MK Tzipi Hotovely's (Likud) upcoming Knesset meeting -- to deprive the Strip from electricity beyond what the bare minimum necessary to sustain life-
Lieberman and his ilk are now reaping the applause of the general public and especially that of their Right wing constituents -- and understandably so. They are threatening Netanyahu and Ya'alon, saying that they are losing their base of political power. This is not so: According to a Channel 2 poll, support for how they are handling the campaign outweighs the criticism. But even if we assume these results will worsen for them, it will only be that way until the smoke from over the operation clears, and then it will have been wise and virtuous to have ignored the original voices of criticism: "And all the people saw the voices ... and the people saw and trembled; so they stood from afar" (Exodus 15:20).
The true voices can be found beyond the immediate noise. So far, they have acted wisely. Striking and seeking a diplomatic solution is the right approach, not the wanton suggestions from both ends of the Lieberman-Levy spectrum.
טעינו? נתקן! אם מצאתם טעות בכתבה, נשמח שתשתפו אותנו