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Source: https://www.jpost.com/opinion/article-863714
Israel Cannot Prevent Palestinian Adulation for Hamas, but Can Debilitate Its Capacity for Harm
(Jerusalem Post) Prof. Efraim Inbar - Wars sow destruction and suffering. People are killed in Gaza, many of them Hamas terrorists. A significant number of civilian casualties are due to Hamas's use of them as human shields. There are pockets of hunger because of problems with distributing food inside Gaza. Hamas behaves similarly to warlords in disaster-stricken areas. Those armed with guns take over the humanitarian aid and eat well. Hamas, like its Islamist counterparts, is willing to sacrifice its own people for attaining maximalist political objectives. The world sees the suffering of Gazans, forgetting that the war started with Hamas acts of horror on Oct. 7. Compassion is directed toward Gazans who are indeed unfortunate, but most of them chose Hamas in democratic elections. All polls testify to the great popularity of Hamas. The inevitable conclusion is that Hamas and Gaza residents bear the moral responsibility for the tragedy in Gaza. Its residents supported Hamas and some of them participated joyfully in the atrocities initiating the war. Israel's operations in Gaza are intended to prevent additional suffering for the Israeli population that has been Hamas's target. Defending the population is a state's paramount moral obligation. This requires destroying Hamas's military capabilities. Israel cannot prevent Palestinian adulation for Hamas, but it has the power to debilitate its capacity for harm. Therefore, Israel focuses on crushing Hamas while trying to alleviate as much as possible the suffering of the non-involved in combat. Leaving Hamas armed in Gaza will only lead to the continuation of the threat to Israel's residents. The survival of Hamas rule would be a victory for the most extreme elements acting against Israel. Hamas will not disarm voluntarily. Yet only Israel is willing to sacrifice soldiers to see Hamas surrendering its weapons. The writer is head of the Program for Strategy, Diplomacy and Security at the Shalem Academic Center and a senior researcher at the Jerusalem Institute for Strategy and Security.