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How Israel Can Solve Its Gaza Problem

(Middle East Quarterly) Brig.-Gen. (res.) Yossi Kuperwasser - Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) are Palestinian terror organizations committed to annihilating Israel, controlling Gaza, and threatening to launch attacks at times of their choosing if Jerusalem does not act as they demand. They use Gaza's civilian population as human shields to prevent the Israelis from hitting their military infrastructure. Jerusalem wants Hamas sufficiently weak to be deterred from initiating armed conflict yet strong enough to force its will over any potential competitor, such as PIJ or Salafist groups. The Israelis also seek to keep Egypt on their side. Yet this approach grants Hamas the ability to develop its offensive capabilities, increase its political power, and condemns Israelis to persistent threats from Hamas. Israel's goal should be to remove Hamas' threat by disarming it, prohibiting its rearmament, and demonstrating conclusively that threatening Israel is indisputably against its interests. With proper preparation, this goal may be feasible at the appropriate time. Israel must reassess its strategy and embark on a campaign to permanently end Hamas' threats. It will have to take the initiative and deny Hamas the ability to produce and develop new weapons even absent Hamas' provocations. The writer, former head of the Research Division of IDF Military Intelligence, is Director of the Project on Regional Middle East Developments at the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs.
2023-06-08 00:00:00
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