Win the PR war

The operation known as Pillar of Defense that Hamas forced upon us began with limited objectives. Israel sought to bring peace to the south, not to bring about a new political reality in Gaza. It seems now, however, that it is Hamas that has managed to alter our reality: Tel Aviv and Jerusalem residents now have to run to bomb shelters, and an entire floor of an apartment building in Rishon Lezion was destroyed [by a Fajr missile].

It is not clear at the time of writing whether there will be a cease-fire, but if so, this operation ends with Hamas having fewer long range missiles and one less military chief. Israel, on the other hand, ends it with a new precedent — Gush Dan has become a part of the war front. Should it come as a surprise that the Israeli public is outraged-

If Operation Pillar of Defense was meant to improve Israel's image abroad, then it was a resounding success. In Paris, London and Berlin they see Israel as the mature adult in the neighborhood, and journalists are having a hard time casting Israel in a negative light. And what about opinions in our own neighborhood? "Let the IDF win" has been a popular slogan since the onset of the operation. Even the political opposition lent its support for the justified mission.

War today isn't only a matter of bullets, but also of public image. Israel clearly limited its objectives in this round and did not seek the image of the great victor. Throughout the week Israel had enough reasons to be content, and enough reasons to end the operation. Only that in the meantime things happened on our end too: the sight in Rishon Lezion, sadly, was a hard visual for the Israeli eye to see.

Operation Pillar of Defense was well coordinated from the get-go. The IDF and Shin Bet already made impressive achievements on the first day. Hamas Military Commander Ahmed Jabari's assassination and the destruction of its long-rage missile stockpiles proved to be serious blows to Hamas. We could have ended the operation there, but Hamas chose to escalate the situation. Foreign ministers from France and Germany, later the U.N. secretary-general and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton arrived in Israel to ensure Pillar of Defense would not become Operation Cast Lead II. Jerusalem apparently told Obama it would avoid a ground offensive, and Hamas apparently picked up on this, and continued shooting.

Since the beginning of the operation there has been a lot of talk regarding Egypt's role, mainly the role of its president Mohammed Morsi. The Egyptian president was mobilized by Washington to arbitrate. The fact that so many rockets were fired from the Gaza Strip on Tuesday proves that either Morsi doesn't really want to do, or is incapable of doing, so. Either way it's bad news.

The world has put a handicap on Israel's ability to wage war with bullets, but that doesn't mean it should abandon the fight to preserve its image. Hamas has left Israel with no choice but to add a few pages to its Pillar of Defense album. We cannot let the pictures from Rishon Lezion be the poster of this operation.

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