http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1057670.html
In Haaretz:
Gideon Levy / Gaza war ended in utter failure for Israel
By Gideon Levy
Tags: israel news, gaza, hamas, IDF
On
the morrow of the return of the last Israeli soldier from Gaza, we can
determine with certainty that they had all gone out there in vain. This
war ended in utter failure for Israel.
This goes beyond the profound moral failure, which is a grave
matter in itself, but pertains to its inability to reach its stated
goals. In other words, the grief is not complemented by failure. We
have gained nothing in this war save hundreds of graves, some of them
very small, thousands of maimed people, much destruction and the
besmirching of Israel's image.
What seemed like a predestined loss to only a handful of people at
the onset of the war will gradually emerge as such to many others, once
the victorious trumpeting subsides.
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The
initial objective of the war was to put an end to the firing of Qassam
rockets. This did not cease until the war's last day. It was only
achieved after a cease-fire had already been arranged. Defense
officials estimate that Hamas still has 1,000 rockets.
The war's second objective, the prevention of smuggling, was not
met either. The head of the Shin Bet security service has estimated
that smuggling will be renewed within two months.
Most of the smuggling that is going on is meant to provide food for
a population under siege, and not to obtain weapons. But even if we
accept the scare campaign concerning the smuggling with its
exaggerations, this war has served to prove that only poor quality,
rudimentary weapons passed through the smuggling tunnels connecting the
Gaza Strip to Egypt.
Israel's ability to achieve its third objective is also dubious.
Deterrence, my foot. The deterrence we supposedly achieved in the
Second Lebanon War has not had the slightest effect on Hamas, and the
one supposedly achieved now isn't working any better: The sporadic
firing of rockets from the Gaza Strip has continued over the past few
days.
The fourth objective, which remained undeclared, was not met
either. The IDF has not restored its capability. It couldn't have, not
in a quasi-war against a miserable and poorly-equipped organization
relying on makeshift weapons, whose combatants barely put up a fight.
The heroic descriptions and victory poems written abut the
"military triumph" will not serve to change reality. The pilots were
flying on training missions and the ground forces were engaged in
exercises that involved joining up and firing weapons.
The describing of the operation as a "military achievement" by the
various generals and analysts who offered their take on the operation
is plain ridiculous.
We have not weakened Hamas. The vast majority of its combatants
were not harmed and popular support for the organization has in fact
increased. Their war has intensified the ethos of resistance and
determined endurance. A country which has nursed an entire generation
on the ethos of a few versus should know to appreciate that by now.
There was no doubt as to who was David and who was Goliath in this war.
The population in Gaza, which has sustained such a severe blow,
will not become more moderate now. On the contrary, the national
sentiment will now turn more than before against the party which
inflicted that blow - the State of Israel. Just as public opinion leans
to the right in Israel after each attack against us, so it will in Gaza
following the mega-attack that we carried out against them.
If anyone was weakened because of this war, it was Fatah, whose
fleeing from Gaza and its abandonment have now been given special
significance. The succession of failures in this war needs to include,
of course, the failure of the siege policy. For a while, we have
already come to realize that is ineffective. The world boycotted,
Israel besieged and Hamas ruled (and is still ruling).
But this war's balance, as far as Israel is concerned, does not end
with the absence of any achievement. It has placed a heavy toll on us,
which will continue to burden us for some time. When it comes to
assessing Israel's international situation, we must not allow ourselves
to be fooled by the support parade by Europe's leaders, who came in for
a photo-op with Prime Minister Ehud Olmert.
Israel's actions have dealt a serious blow to public support for
the state. While this does not always translate itself into an
immediate diplomatic situation, the shockwaves will arrive one day. The
whole world saw the images. They shocked every human being who saw
them, even if they left most Israelis cold.
The conclusion is that Israel is a violent and dangerous country,
devoid of all restraints and blatantly ignoring the resolutions of the
United Nations Security Council, while not giving a hoot about
international law. The investigations are on their way.
Graver still is the damage this will visit upon our moral spine. It
will come from difficult questions about what the IDF did in Gaza,
which will occur despite the blurring effect of recruited media.
So what was achieved, after all? As a war waged to satisfy
considerations of internal politics, the operation has succeeded beyond
all expectations. Likud Chair Benjamin Netanyahu is getting stronger in
the polls. And why? Because we could not get enough of the war.
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