Cannot envision any outcomes that are particularly good .Iron Dome was Great .Hit a lot of Missiles down .Ground operation too many Killed and wounded seven killed in the unarmed Personell carrier .Twenty in one house Booby Trapped .Crazy Twenty in one house.Far too many Gazan civilians killed and seen on TV globally .Warning Shots good tho could be more nonLethal .With ground operation Favored by 'General'Bennett who wanted it to be far more extensive anxiety to protect IDF led to more Bombing everywhere .Maybe unavoidable Enemy willing to have tens of thousands of civilian and military Martyrs.

For once I find myself agreeing with Yediot...

The threat of bombing is much more effective. If people in Gaza are given something they would not want to lose and hope for the future, they will be less likely to risk losing their assets. Let them have their port and airport and import whatever they like. The implied threat is that all can be destroyed. And if all has to be destroyed...there can be no half measures.

There is the start of a cost of reneging on the cease fire deal made last August. Israel promised Gaza bigger fishing and no more border shootings and reneged on both promises. Egypt is building its buffer zone inside Egypt, not claiming part of Gaza. Egypt does not send tanks into Gaza to tear up crops. There is s difference

So we have to read this crap till March? I used to be impressed by the articles on YNET, but it seems the editors are obsessed with grinding out their daily anti-Bibi headlines in the remote hope that it will make "the difference" in the election. I seriously doubt it. Does YNET think Israelis are morons?

Your article is more apt for a Guardian publication than Y net.I am sure they would be happy to have you with open arms and a hug.The strategic changes you allude to are to do with the waning power of Hamas and the Moslem Brotherhood.In the long term its better to make your enemy dependent on you as you can better control him and use him to your advantage.Your thinking is typical of defeatist left.

first, israel will not allow airports and seaports in a terror entity whose sole purpose is to destroy the country. second, the population of gaza has absolutely no say in what happens in that territory. they are ruled by a totalitarian genocidal theocracy. they have absolutely no freedom.

HAMAS did not send Rockets into Egypt. If they would - I don't think we would be talking about HAMAS and Gaza at all.

Until the 2-state solution the pressure will grow.

Israel will never return to the "pre-disengagement days". Back then, Israel easily ruled Gaza with limited forces and there were no rocket attacks across the pre-1967 border. Civil administration was handled by PLO and Jews had productive lives in their villages. The ethnic cleansing of Gush Katif meant that even with a tenfold increase of forces, IDF is helpless to prevent rockets on Israeli civilians, and is facing powerful Hamas ground forces that are directly supported by Europe and Obama. What Fishman misses is that this is what will happen with Judea and Samaria if Herzog and Livni actualize their fantasy of PLO rule. In fact, it will be far worse because it will be simple for anyone, ISIS, Hezbolla or Iran to send weapons into Judea and Samaria.

Disengagement may have being profitable to someone, but not to disengaged on both sides of the fence. Neither to Israel nor to Gazans. Separating and segregating people is an extremist policies of shortsighted. It will bear nothing but shame and loss, always.

their boots because af a port?! Really? That strategy failed long ago with the Israeli Arabs denying their very real progress in the civilized world. So did the "pilots" on 9/11! Its Islam baby and it's got nothing top lose!

Sell to them and make a profit. Build power, water etc they pay for it. They want another war. 1. Turn it all off 2. Bomb it flat. 3. Rinse and repeat No Arab country on planet earth wants Palestinians. Saw a photo of Palestinian mum and dad, proud as punch of their little 18th month old baby. The baby had a suicide bomb vest on. Need we say anymore. Rinse and repeat. So sad.

The supply of electricity and water to Gaza is a commercial arrangement between Israel and the PA, which is contractually obliged to pay Israel according to the amount sold. The same will be the case if Israel sells natural gas for use in Gaza. Never mind that the PA is in arrears: this is an issue between Israel and the PA and has nothing to do with Hamas or Operation Protective Edge. Fishman's article would have a point only if Israel had launched the operation in order to coerce the PA into paying its bills, which is obviously not the case.

Really no avoiding it. Inevitable. Air & artillery bombardment will not pacify festering Gaza and the groups lurking within.

It is possible that due to the benign Israel's attitude to Gazans, it can recruit many agents and obtain valuable military information and about terrorists' operatives, as demonstrated by accurate air strikes in last war in Gaza and before.