Chief of General Staff Lt. Gen. Benny Gantz was waxing lyrical Wednesday, speaking about the flowers that will bloom in the fields of Gaza area communities. A few days earlier, he noted that farmers would soon experience the rain that comes with the approaching fall. Born in Kfar Achim, an agricultural community in the south, Gantz's father was a member of the Moshavim Movement, an umbrella group for agricultural co-ops in Israel. His soliloquy on Wednesday, which was dominated by a yearning for normalcy, could have been written by the late songwriter Naomi Shemer herself. It was all about water, fields, orchards and green pastures. Gantz's comments stood in stark contrast to the events of the past month. They underscored the desire of every human being, and of Israel as a nation, to distance itself from the grisly sights of Operation Protective Edge. Just like the other two leaders at the helm -- Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon -- Gantz did everything he could to avert the July flare-up. The conventional wisdom was that Hamas did not seek a confrontation either. But Hamas' conniving leaders, political office chief Khaled Mashaal and senior leader Ismail Haniyeh, tried to have it both ways. They funded the kidnapping operation near Hebron that left three Israeli teens dead. This was coupled by ongoing rocket fire on the Gaza area communities. But they could not keep a lid on things. They were wedded to a flawed misconception: that Israel would not dare use its ground troops. They were confident Israel just wanted to get through the summer unscathed, that it would not even contemplate an operation during what was supposed to be a relaxing summer hiatus. But they were in for a surprise. Neither side wanted this war. We got there by the sheer force of inertia, with neither side fully in control. Gantz, who sent some of the reserve troops back home on Wednesday, can confidently claim that the blow to Hamas will result in an effective deterrence that is unlikely to unravel any time soon. Having said that, he has to go back and do his own debriefing: Why did he not sound every possible alarm about the emerging tunnel threat? Why was he so certain that Hamas was about to buckle and agree to a cease-fire so early in the game, despite reality proving otherwise? The return to normalcy will have Gantz engage senior politicians, who are already trying to reap a political dividend from the conflict by attacking Gantz and his general staff. They have accused him of going soft on Hamas and being too risk-averse. They believe Gantz only wanted to get the fighting over with and return home safely. Others will point out that Gantz's behavior attests to his maturity and that his conduct was ultimately embraced by the civilian leadership, which subscribed to his modus operandi. Gantz's Israel Defense Forces looks nothing like the military of 2006, when then-Chief of General Staff Dan Halutz presided over the Second Lebanon War. The troops of 2014 were masterful in their prosecution of the war. Netanyahu, Ya'alon and Gantz defined clear goals that could be met, not amorphous and impossible expectations. It looks as though Israeli schoolchildren are going to enjoy the rest of the summer break. Coffee shops, day camps and vacationing will all once again be part and parcel of our summer experience. Even our politics are back to their default state -- with former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert occupying the front pages. A return to normalcy indeed.
