Assassinations along the way to a deal

I couldn't believe my ears. Speaking at a cabinet meeting, Economy and Trade Minister Naftali Bennett said that if Israel had received intelligence on Hamas military wing chief Mohammed Deif's whereabouts during a cease-fire, it would have had to violate the cease-fire to take out Deif. When I asked Bennett about it, he said, "I won't talk about what goes on in the cabinet." At times like these, former Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir would have sighed, said his classic, "oh well," and sighed again.

It should be noted that Yasser Arafat was an IDF target when he was forced out of Lebanon in 1982. But, former Prime Minister Menachem Begin promised to allow his safe exit, and then-Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Rafael (Raful) Eitan gritted his teeth and held back from pulling the trigger.

It is clear that Israel will not make even the most necessary targeted strike when it is committed to a cease-fire. The fact that the idea was brought up at all during the cabinet meeting points to a debate lacking in quality.

On Thursday, canons roared along with roaring voices. Ministers from various parties -- including Likud -- took exception to criticism from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon directed at their colleagues in the cabinet for leaking the contents of cabinet discussions, and worse yet, voting in favor -- but speaking publicly against. For example, behind closed doors, everyone voted in favor of the negotiations in Cairo, but some came out publicly against the talks as a strategy to win support.

I also have some words of critique for Netanyahu. Though he did the right thing on Wednesday, he was late to do so. It was up to him to put an end to this phenomenon from the start, but on Thursday evening, it got worse. A poll shown on Channel 2 indicated a drop in support for the prime minister, but still on a backdrop of widespread support for his leadership, and the eternally dissatisfied ministers tried to cause the leadership trio to crumble, with criticism focused on IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Benny Gantz, despite the fact that he leads the army bravely, thoughtfully and responsibly.

This was a foolish attempt to take the debate from the political arena -- where Netanyahu, Ya'alon and their supporters can fight back -- to the military, where the only possible response is silence. This debate will intensify when Operation Protective Edge draws to a close.

Meanwhile, the fighting has gone up a notch. The series of targeted assassinations, which began with an attempt to take out Deif and ended with the deaths of three other senior Hamas officials, restored the atmosphere of "tricks," or surgical strikes. The move toward targeted assassinations in Operation Protective Edge is reminiscent of Operation Pillar of Defense. This is how it should be, and the surgical strikes have begun to urge Hamas leaders to agree to a cease-fire that will be discussed between Egypt and the Palestinians over the weekend in Cairo.

Targeted assassinations are a catalyst for a cease-fire without accepting Hamas demands, as its leadership remains split between Gaza and Qatar. Bennett is consistent in his belief that there is no reason to return to negotiations. But Netanyahu and Ya'alon, who know that a military operation will not solve the Gaza problem, rather it will only delay the inevitable conflict by a few years, prefer to reach a deal in Cairo.

The assassinations will serve as a catalyst for a cease-fire without accepting Hamas demands. That is the goal.

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