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Hamas Cannot Be Easily Deterred

(Times of Israel) David Horovitz - As rocket fire on Tuesday marked the latest in a string of Hamas truce violations, the notion that some kind of lasting arrangement was soon to emerge from the indirect negotiations in Cairo was again rudely shattered. Netanyahu is not about to approve a deal that gives Hamas any remotely significant diplomatic reward for firing 3,500 rockets at Israel and building an elaborate cross-border attack tunnel network. Hamas lost dozens of its tunnels, and perhaps 1,000 of its gunmen, and pleaded for a cease-fire, apparently believing it could negotiate a diplomatic resolution more satisfactory than the military face-off had yielded. But most of its elite fighters are still alive, and it still has thousands of rockets, and is capable of manufacturing more in mid-conflict. Hamas is not seeking freedom for the people of Gaza when it demands the "lifting of the siege," a seaport and an airport. Rather, it is seeking the capacity to further its goal of wiping out Israel by getting all the restrictions lifted on its capacity to build a still nastier war machine. But only if Hamas believes its survival is in danger will it call a long-term halt to the fire. And that would require a far more significant military operation.
2014-08-20 00:00:00
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