T. Belman. As can be expected, Haaretz trashes Netanyahu. This article also recognizes the reality “the structural limits Israel faces fighting a terror organization which operates from an area densely populated with civilians.” and “the White House had run out of patience with Israel’s bombing of Gaza.”
It is worth noting that in the previous Gaza War in 2014, when Obama was president, the ceasefire was delayed for 51 days. In this war under Biden, it was announced in only 11 days. So why did Biden run out of patience in only 11 days?
Without doubt, a change of strategy and tactics is in order. The battle plan relying on only smart bombs and the avoidance of Arab casualties will never bring a different result. It amounts to mowing the lawn. It doesn’t bespeak of victory over Hamas. In future Israel should commit to victory instead. Victory can only be achieved by a massive land invasion. Before the invasion Gazans should be warned to withdraw from the first battlefield. Then the area should be bombed to smithereens to reduce resistance. Then the IDF should invade to take control of the area. This process should then be repeated on the adjacent area and so on. Once in control of a land mass, the IDF can pump water from the Mediterranean and flood the tunnels.
The IDF’s success in the Gaza operation appears to have been limited, but they are not the reason a cease-fire was called
By Amos Harel, HAARETZ
Israeli artillery unit fires shells towards targets in Gaza Strip, May 2021.Credit: Tsafrir Abayov,AP
In the long, difficult and turbulent relations between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the defense establishment, Thursday night marked a new low. Initially, Netanyahu tried, through an official statement, to place responsibility for the cease-fire – which was forced on him by U.S. President Joe Biden – on the Israel Defense Forces and the other security branches. Shortly afterward, dirt on the army’s performance during the Gaza campaign was leaked to the media, with the goal of insulating Netanyahu from any hint of blame for the defeat.
The announcement said the security cabinet’s decision was taken unanimously “on the recommendation of defense officials – the chief of staff, the head of the Shin Bet, the head of the Mossad and the head of the National Security Council.”
This was a transparent attempt to take cover behind a consensus of defense experts, instead of attributing the decision to call for a cease-fire to the country’s political leadership. It was part of a campaign of leaks in recent days that portrayed the army as pressuring Netanyahu to end the fighting while the prime minister remained undecided.
The thrust of the campaign of leaks began to emerge just minutes after the cabinet meeting ended. Jonathan Lis reported in Haaretz that ministers had said that the intelligence they had been given was “poor” and failed to provide the army with “targets that would have changed the reality” in its attacks. The air force had even failed in destroying Hamas’ network of defensive tunnels, the famous “metro,” which was one of the central goals of the campaign.
The leaks had it that ministers criticized the failed assassinations of Hamas leaders and so rockets had continued to fall on Israel until the final night of the campaign. Other media quoted Transportation Minister Miri Regev criticizing IDF Chief of Staff Avi Kochavi during the cabinet deliberations. Regev allegedly wanted to continue the fighting but that Kochavi expressed doubts (Regev released a statement denying this.)
Those who are making these claims are counting on the public having a short -term memory. First, vis a vis the claims about a dearth of targets; the problems carrying out assassinations and the rocket fire that lasted until the final night – they are no different from any of the other Gaza operations in the past.
They reflect the structural limits Israel faces fighting a terror organization which operates from an area densely populated with civilians. Second, only two or three days ago, the prime minister, his spokesmen and his acolytes were saying that this campaign was different from the rest and that unprecedented victories were being racked up under Netanyahu’s leadership.
When Benny Gantz was IDF Chief of Staff, he gave Netanyahu a lot of latitude about deciding when to end a campaign and let the IDF assume responsibility for the decision. It seems that Kochavi, who is more alert to the current complexity of the political situation, is less ready to do that. So what does a prime minister with a bruised and battered image do as the rockets continue to fall? He emphasizes the broad consensus of the security establishment and slanders the army’s performance.
The IDF’s success in the fighting appears to have been limited and certainly is in no way commensurate with the euphoria broadcast by retired generals in the television studios. Operation Guardian of the Walls was another war in the series of limited conflicts in Gaza that make no pretense of really eliminating the security threat Hamas poses.
The results were disappointing in the past and they will be disappointing in the future. But the attempt at blaming the IDF for the cease-fire distorts the facts and can even be termed inane. The operation ended because the White House had run out of patience with Israel’s bombing of Gaza. It had nothing to do with how many rocket launchers were destroyed or senior Hamas figures were crossed off the list of targets.
Netanyahu ended the operation, as could have been expected from day one, with a measure of disappointment. The security flare-up, which he himself contributed to by backing increased policing in Jerusalem, scuttled the attempt to form the anti-Netanyahu government that had sought to push him out of power. However, his path to forming a new government of his own is still long and winding.
The final whistle, which finds him in a disappointing tie with Hamas, doesn’t seem to improve his standing with the public. In the meantime, he is fighting a battle of retreat and delaying tactics with his political enemies at home (and also with the prosecution). This is no war whose goal is victory. Thursday night, Netanyahu’s enemies were supplied with more ammunition to use against him.
Despite all the turmoil, there has been one amusing aspect concerning the extraordinary distress of the trumpets. Over the last few weeks, they had been praising the wisdom and heroism of Kochavi. Inspired by Netanyahu, he inflicted a decisive blow on the Hamas enemy. Kochavi was lauded in Bibist circles as the greatest Jewish commander since Bar Kochba.
All this came to an end Thursday night when the need to quickly find a new scapegoat arose. Even these veteran campaigners will need to adapt quickly from now on to presenting the wholly new version of events. It will be interesting to see how they meet the challenge starting today.
So “The air force had even failed in destroying Hamas’ network of defensive tunnels” says Haaretz. Well, they are the ONLY ONES daring to say such stupidity. I stopped reading right there, as I usually in the extremely rare occasions I read something from that pile of garbage that is Haaretz.
@ Sebastien Zorn:
Yes, just like the Bee said. In the not too distant past it would have been inconceivable for the US to financially sponsor terrorism against an ally. The ability of Hamas and their affiliates to walk about in the open is a great stain upon those societies that allow it, even more so for those whose taxes are raised in order to underwrite the bloodied tributes to their calls for genocide.
peloni1986 Said:
Biden just promised to replenish Iron Dome and rebuild Gaza. This is just like the Babylon Bee satirical article about American weapons being used on all sides in the conflict with Iran.
https://www.jpost.com/breaking-news/biden-us-will-replenish-iron-dome-amid-ceasefire-668721
@ Bear Klein:
Well said. Thank you. That’s what the Israeli public, Hamas and the world needs to hear.
@ Laura:
Laura, I want to thank you for sharing this. At first glance, I was not too informed by Candace’s comment. But the more I consider it, the more I come to see that it does reveal much.
So the cat caught Candace’s tongue – that must be a first for her. Curious if you fear attacks from this side and that side, why would you comment at all. I have to agree that I don’t accept that her comment referencing her silence on this very significant attack against Israel was related to the stifling of freedom of speech in the US. She clearly had a desire to say something, and given this is her only statement on this issue, I suggest we should look at it carefully for clarity. She mentioned, in her non-commenting comment, that she had concerns of attack from both sides, but why would anyone expect to be attacked for making a comment on this terrible event. It appears fairly transparent , given her reference to ‘antisemitic’ attacks she feared, that she holds some criticism for Israel in this matter or at least would relate this attack to some actions of Israel that would give this attack context. I find either of these two possibilities to be a reprehensible. If this was not the intended view she chose to keep from us, why make any reference to antisemitism at all. If you can not muster the common decency to condemn the actions of a terrorist group while they are literally launching thousands of rockets upon an unprovoked public for nearly two weeks, I would have to question why not. It is only due to the miraculous and mostly protective effects of Iron Dome that these missile attacks did not result in thousands of dead innocents and shattered lives scattered across the entire state. Her inability to state this clearly, instead of suggesting she had a more broad statement that she fears to make, is both disturbing and disingenuous. I have heard it said that fears make the weak timid, but Candace is neither weak nor timid. As Laura accurately notes, this is a champion of conservatism whose boldness and honest voice is never silenced. Her frank honesty has always been her most alluring charm. So for her to release a statement referencing that she is afraid to share a statement on this issue while simultaneously attaching a reference to moral equivalence speaks pretty loudly of her intent. This was a terrible moment for her to do this. Better that she just said nothing than to say nothing more than this. In case of war, you need to know who your friends and champions will be. And in times of war, the actions of your friends and champions reveal who they are. Consequently, I would have to conclude that Candace would, regretfully, prefer not to be on that list for fear of being attacked as “SUPPORTING GENOCIDE or ANTI-SEMITIC”.
@ Sebastien Zorn:
Israeli public was very tough (resilient) and unified across the political spectrum of Jews in pounding Hamas and Islamic Jihad. Yes this was just another round until the next one in 3, 5 or 10 years from now.
Since no one has come up with a solution that amounts to victory that is implementable at this point that is the situation. If they become an even bigger threat in the future then pounding them into oblivion may happen.
Destroying much of their offensive capability that could inflict serious damage from the air in 11 days was a very good tactical military victory.
From the moment the Biden admin reversed all of Trump’s policies: declaring the Abraham Accords to be “dead on arrival”, renewed the Iran nuclear deal and ended the sanctions against Iran, renewed funding of the PA, that all sent a message to hamas to start its war on Israel. No one can tell me this wasn’t deliberate on the part of the Biden administration.
@ Bear Klein:
So, if doing more was never desired by the Israeli public, “not wanting to get bogged down in Gaza”, then it becomes a matter of public relations spin. Hamas, which is in a popularity contest with Fatah, now that Abbas cancelled the elections, waged this stupid – from a military standpoint – war for public relations. That being said, going around saying Israel lost plays into their hands and weakens Israel’s position on the world stage and also vis a vis the “Palestinian” and Israeli Arabs, not top mention Iran, who MUST be demoralized if they are to be quelled. Unity and confidence in the Israeli public is exactly what terrorists and terrorist regimes don’t want and can’t afford. Destroying that is exactly what they are all about!
The world does not care and is even gleeful over the deaths of Jewish children. Why should I care about the deaths of future terrorists in Gaza, which hamas is responsible for anyway?
@ Sebastien Zorn:
She wasn’t addressing a different issue. Don’t make excuses for her. She was unafraid to take on the George Floyd issue last year at the height of the riots and controversy, and actually condemning George Floyd. Suddenly she’s afraid of criticism from either side? If she was pro-Israel she wouldn’t hesitate to say so. Given how most conservatives support Israel, my hunch is she does not want to alienate her supporters. Given that the left hates her anyway, why would she care what they think? It’s clear to me from her statement, at the very least she lacks moral clarity on the issue and sees the two sides as morally equivalent. Going by the thread in that tweet however, there are certain conservatives who would agree with her.
@ Sebastien Zorn:
If I were a New Yorker I’d vote for Curtis Sliwa.
@ Sebastien Zorn:
The IDF general I saw on TV is not on active duty but in the reserves. He was interviewed on TV for about an hour (bald guy in his early 50s his name escapes me).Let me know if you know Hebrew I can provide streaming links to three Israeli TV Channels as it a far better source of Israeli news than the English online publications.
What he said has been corroborated many times in regards to NO ONE in the IDF Brass wanting to get bogged down permanently in Gaza. Israeli civilians overwhelmingly also do not want to do this.
The IDF did have ground attacks prepared. They have plans how one could capture Gaza (I assume). It will NOT be going in a straight line from one starting point (as this creates maximum causalities plus is the slowest method) and flooding all the tunnels. When one wants to capture a piece of land to do it quickly it is best to cut off the enemies supply lines and lines of reinforcement (that is why you want to attack from various points). Gaza previously had been cut in half more or less by the presence of Gush Katif. If you were to attack Gaza by land and sea it would make sense to isolate their fighters in certain geographic quadrants so they could not be reinforced. That way they would either die or surrender. Flooding too much of the tunnels could lead to collapse of the sandy soil thereby limiting the movement of tanks and APCs Israel would use in a ground invasion. Israel blew up over half the tunnels already anyway. The bombs it used penetrate deep underground and are very effective. If fighting starts up again the rest of the tunnels could be blown up from the air.
Ted Belman Said:
Leftists condemned Israel and Sanders and AOC submitted bills to Congress to stop aid to Israel. “Peace” could mean anything. Israel wants peace. Innocent civilians on both sides died. Acknowledging that innocents on both sides died and suffered and being sad about it doesn’t necessarily mean not understanding that it is entirely Hamas’ fault, even if somebody doesn’t have the courage to say it. It’s not even a centrist position that would blame both sides equally. It just leaves out blame. With regard to that blame and also with regard to the question of who won, a fantastic piece from a site called STOP THE LIES popped up on my FB news feed and I will share it with you.
@ Sebastien Zorn:
I was shocked by her fence sitting. I expected better. I am really surprised that she was not prepared to take the heat for her opinion. Especially her as she willingly takes the heat on everything else.
Gal Godot took a leftist position and prayed for peace. Very disappointing.
@ Sebastien Zorn:
Even though Biden would not support it, I still think it could happen.
@ Sebastien Zorn:
I found it very interesting that in the NYC mayoral race, two of the black candidates in the upcoming Democratic primary, Eric Adams and Ray McGuire, made the exact same tweet in solidarity with Israel that Andrew Yang, the Taiwanese-American candidate did and was pilloried for. Is this left wing anti-Asian racism, or is it something else. Would the left have gone out of its way to attack Owens for a statement supporting Israel, or would they have given her qualified immunity on account of being black? Adams and Yang are the two front runners – Adams is ahead – and McGuire is in single digits so it can’t be just about targeting likely winners. “The Jewish Press” has endorsed Adams.
@ Laura:
But we don’t know what she thinks. Gal Gadot was attacked in the same way Candace Owens described just for tweeting that she is saddened by the war, prays for her country and hopes for peace without condemning anybody, which used to be a standard Miss America winner line. It should be possible to pray for world peace without anybody making something of it, politically. I would be surprised, very surprised, to learn that Owens draws a moral equivalence between Hamas and Israel. She was addressing a different issue: the fact that she doesn’t have the freedom of speech to say what she thinks in an allegedly democratic society. Though, that being said, it would have carried a lot of weight if she had the courage of Ben Shapiro, say, to speak “truth to power” to appropriate a favorite slogan of the left, and side with Israel against these terrorist scum. Pity she isn’t that concerned for us (the Jewish people) and is willing to endure attacks for other issues but to defend our people under attack. I don’t label her as an antisemite for this but it does cool my ardor for her as a public intellectual figure.
Sebastien Zorn Said:
As it requires the intervention of the sitting American president, does it not? That’s why it’s just an option. It’s practical – assuming the Pals are more motivated by economics than politics or religion, enough of them, anyway – but even Trump supported his own version of a TSS. Will there ever be an American president who will go along with it? Will Israel ever be strong enough to defy America and the UN and go it alone or with different allies? If so, when? What we do know, is that Israel is stronger than it was and has more allies than it did and the Jewish population is increasing at a greater rate than the Arab. Time is on Israel’s side. Everything else is a gamble. Frustrating reality. Perhaps new technology will also have an impact such as Iron Dome. By the way, does Israel need the US to resupply Iron Dome? Is Israel independent enough to weather a sudden arms embargo like the one Obama imposed last time?
@ Bear Klein:
Can you recall the name of the general? Given the politicization of the military, it’s necessary to know whether the things they say are motivated by strategy or politics. Also, is this a currently serving general? Ted said, Of course, Israel could fight such a war” and this un-named source of yours – I can’t accept un-named sources, as a matter of principle – says, “of course not” and I haven’t read a discussion of it, elsewhere. It’s really important, central, in fact. Unless, it’s unwise to let the enemy know what can and can’t be done, which is, in fact, one of the drawbacks of democracy, which totalitarian enemies take advantage of, liberally. But, then it’s difficult to distinguish fantasy from practical proposals, otherwise, if the public must weigh in. I love Edgar’s proposal. Is it practical? Know way of knowing about the Jordan option
@ Ted Belman:
https://twitter.com/RealCandaceO/status/1394013384283152385
I want to comment on the Israel-Palestine conflict but I don’t feel like being referred to as SUPPORTING GENOCIDE or ANTI-SEMITIC by the intellectual heavyweights on either side.
Politics disallows for an honest discussion.
3:34 PM · May 16, 2021·Twitter for iPhone
@ Edgar G.:
I’d like nothing better, Edgar, and that’s what it takes to win, it seems to me, but what the Allies did during WWII would be regarded as ethnic cleansing, today and that’s why the West hasn’t won a protracted war since, though granted the Falkland Islands and Grenada were major victories (sarcasm). Even the Yom Kippur War only took 3 weeks. And, of course, the Six Day War was, well, six days. Dissent was shut down during WWII. That’s another thing. No protracted war can survive freedom of speech and assembly, etc. The only major war that the US ever won (I think, did we win?) including the Revolutionary War, in which civil rights were protected was the War of 1812, you know, the one in which the Brits burned Washington DC to the ground.
@ Bear Klein:
I am familiar with such thinking and the reality he describes must be avoided. I expanded on my thoughts in my reply to Sabastien.
@ Sebastien Zorn:
Of course israel is prepared for such a war. But the solution I presented pushes the Gazans to the south so that it is easy to contain them. Obviously Israel then has to deal with what to do with them. She can’t keep them in a confined area for long. Nor would she want to open herself to allegations of ethnic cleansing. She might then allow All Gazans to return except the terrorists. I don’t have all the answers but wanted to open the door to a discussion.
One more option. Israel could then withdraw out of Gaza (after destroying all the weapons) and participate with humanitarian assistance with the rest of the world.
Finally there is the Jordan Option which calls for the immigration of all refugees/Palestinians.
@ Laura:
In my opinion she is not any of those. Show me the evidence.
Remember she works for Dennis Prager, an orthodox Jew and is partners with Ben Shapiro, another orthodox Jew. Aside from her Hitler remarks, she hasn’t made any mistakes. She should have kept her mouth shut due to her general ignorance of the matter. I have no doubt that she spent many months studying up on the Holocaust and antisemitism. In general she is constantly studying what she needs to know to be an effective politician/advocate.
@ Sebastien Zorn:
Sebastien, an old tried and true war tactic is to contain one front and commit the major effort the other. (Boney did this all the time). That being said, I also have been sure that 1-2 brigades, 10-20 tanks , a few mortars anda handful of planes could do more to Gaza than just containment. Especially with the pin-point technology that Israel has.
Israel did that in the Golan Heights tanks holding action which made the Syrians believe that a handful of Israeli tanks was a whole brigade, so they halted their advance.The heroic tankers have been too soon forgotten.
Then Israel, after the breakthrough into Egypt by Sharon and clearly winning, quickly transferred assets to the Golan, and were only 20 miles from Damascus when the cease fire took effect. My cousin, with whom I first stayed when first in Israel, was a troop carrier driver and was there. He said that one tanker transferred to 7-8 other tanks as each was being disabled. And we don’t even remember his name.
@ Sebastien Zorn:
I listened to an IDF General on TV a couple of days ago who was in charge of taking back Judea/Samaria during the second intifada. He said it took 6 years to get it completely under control. He said Gaza would be way worse. In words you can capture it quickly but will have a lot soldiers there for a long time to completely control it.
So at this point in time according to him and other Israeli military brass this would be a mistake and Israelis in the vast majority do not want the headache of caring for two million Gazans. So mowing the lawn is the tactic at moment periodically.
He says all the IDF top officers do not want to do this because the existential is with the Hezis and Iran and not Hamas. His view was that getting stuck with a lot of soldiers is a strategic mistake.
I miss President Trump more than ever. I have no doubt this wouldn’t be happening if he were still president.
@Ted Belman Can Israel commit that many soldiers to Gaza indefinitely and still be able to fend off invasion from the North by Hezbollah? Is Israel prepared for a possibly protracted two front war? That’s the elephant in the room, it seems to me. Do you have an answer?
Candace Owens is a fraud who thinks there’s a moral equivalence between Israel and hamas. Anyone who does not unequivocally support Israel against her genocidal enemies is not a true conservative and is more than likely an anti-Semite. Debbie Schlussel called her out as a fake conservative and didn’t jump on the bandwagon of Candace worship. Debbie is usually way ahead of the rest when it comes to such frauds.
I hope joe biden joins his son in hell and takes hunter with him.
TED- I’ve posted exactly the same method for many years. I recall that in the Lebanon wars, I advocated a sudden cutting acros ijust below the Litani, to the sea, thereby isolating the emplacements, and taking the dug in Hezbollah defences from behind. Findng their entrances and air vents, and pumping sea water through hoses directly down tnto them..
dWould you believe it, not a single General even acknowledged my brilliance. Maybe they’d already thought of it.)
I mentioned the same thing about Gaza over the past few weeks -the last time, a few days ag. flattening every structure with a WW” type “rolling barrage” starting from the north giving the people time to get into the Sinai, on down to the Egyptian border, bulldozing the rubble into the sea, giving Israel extended sea front property.
No doubt …we are the “great minds who think alike”……and R****** too -of course
Worse than that. Abbas blackmailed Biden. Fool that he is. Abbas agreed to postpone his ‘reelection’ threatening Hamas would win In exchange for restoration of monthly PA stipend. The Western governments are self-dillusional thinking government can lead the Palestinians to rational governance, but they Want Hamas. Hamas was democratically elected just as Muslim Brotherhood was elected in Egypt.
Everyone got what they wanted except Palestinians and US taxpayers. Abbas stayed in power and got $, Bibi mows the lawn, Biden can be indecisive and is now the peacemaker and neutral intermediary, Hamas is a Muslim martyr to the cause, Iran smacks Biden, Iran smacks Israeli public opinion, libertards & Gang of 4 get public acclaim and backing wringing their hands over dead children. Palestinians die and US taxpayers pick up the bill. Sanders proposes a DOA bill to withhold military support for Israel while Congress applauds restraint and Iron Dome.
US trying one more time to get rid of Bibi!
It doesn’t mean that he replacement will be better for IL!
The US want someone they can control!
Biden has no say here. Everything is ran from behind!
Once we know who, we will have an better idea of their intentions!
But it doesn’t look favorable to IL!