IDF artillery battery near Gaza. instructions from Olmert
Photo: Tzafrir Abayov
Leading army to failure
Under Olmert and Peretz IDF operating in Gaza with blend of massivity and inflexibility
The retreat from Gaza continues to complicate things for us. The Palestinians refuse to play by any of the scenarios disengagement supporters said were possible: Qassams continue to rain down on Israel, despite the IDF artillery barrage intended to stop them.
They elected Hamas rather than Fatah, tore down the Egyptian border and are slowly taking control of it. They didn't even turn the evacuated settlements into holiday villages for vacationing Israelis, as some dreamers fantasized. Instead, they have become mini-terror bases.
It's not just that Hamas hasn't moderated. It's that slowly, Fatah is moving towards their political positions. There has been a clear, tangible radicalization across the entire spectrum Palestinian public opinion.
Terror and its response
Terror from Gaza brings a massive response on the part of the IDF, which receives its instructions from Prime Minister Olmert and Defense Minister Peretz. It is hard to remember such an intensive string of assassinations, artillery attacks, bombings – and accidents that have killed innocent civilians.
The victims' photos from the Gaza Beach are enough to shock any ethical human being and are sure to serve as a potent anti-Israel PR weapon.
And here, we cannot ignore domestic politics. Imagine – just imagine! – if the prime minister was Ariel Sharon, and the defense minister was Shaul Mofaz, rather than Amir Peretz.
Imagine the protests
Just imagine the rivers of fury the Israeli left (even the moderate left) would pour out against Sharon and Mofaz! Labor Party MKs would accuse Sharon of intentionally trying to scuttle Israel's chances of dialogue with Mahmoud Abbas, and of Abbas' with Hamas.
Military and political analysts would ascribe entire conspiracy theories to Mofaz, and would accuse him of intentionally fanning the flames of terrorism.
Opinion makers would slam the cheapness of Palestinian life in the eyes of Sharon's and Mofaz's defense establishment. And it is not at all out of the question that we would see left-wing activists protesting outside each of their houses.
None of this has happened, or will happen, to Ehud Olmert or Amir Peretz.
Grace period
True, Olmert and Peretz have not been in their jobs very long. Still, they as prime minister and defense minister they bear ministerial responsibility for the doubly weak hand f the country's defense policy.
On one hand, despite all the promises, the Qassams have not been silenced, and Israeli lives near the Gaza border are considered ownerless. On the other hand, IDF responses are not perfect, and so Palestinian lives in Gaza are considered ownerless.
The human and political price of such a heavy barrage make it preferable to go with the suggestion of former Shin Bet head and current Internal Security Minister Avi Dichter, who advocates reoccupying northern Gaza, from whence the Qassams are originating.
But it's not so nice for the Kadima-Labor government to own up to the cruel, unforeseen reality created by the retreat/ "disengagement." They maintain their blind faith in outdated theories of fighting the war on terror. These approaches worked on suicide bombers and Hamas commanders, but are ineffective, and even destructive, against Qassams, and against the rockets that have yet to come.
Moral equivalence
Of course, there is no moral equivalence between unplanned civilian deaths and rocket attacks intended to kill civilians, just as there is no moral equivalence between a car accident and homicide.
But the world does not always make such distinctions. The Arab world almost never does.
And so we get to the quantitative difference: We move to a particular number of civilian casualties and blur the distinction between "intentional" and "accidental." A dead father is a dead father is a dead father.
Under Olmert and Peretz the army is operating in Gaza with a blend of massivity and inflexibility. There are no expectations, and no successes. Something has got to change.
