(Institute for National Security Studies-Tel Aviv University) Amos Yadlin - The basic assumption that Hamas must be preserved as the entity responsible for Gaza must change. It makes Hamas think it can extend the fighting without paying for it with its own demise. Attention must focus on dealing a severe blow to Hamas' military wing, which is preventing the cease-fire. Ending the campaign against Hamas with a strategic deadlock would project Israeli weakness and erode Israel's deterrence, leading to confrontations in other arenas. It is important to ensure that Hamas force rehabilitation be very slow to nonexistent. Israel's right to act against the domestic manufacture of strategic weapons and rockets in Gaza must be part of any arrangement. Maj.-Gen. (res.) Amos Yadlin, the chief of Israeli military intelligence from 2006 to 2010, is director of INSS.
2014-07-29 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive