Where is Israel heading? Rumors surfaced Tuesday that the Cabinet’s new plan involves controlling Gaza’s perimeter. Is this the grand vision? Under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the hard-right government is fostering a strategic disaster in security policy. Known for stalling and obfuscation, Netanyahu avoids clear decisions, embedding in Israelis’ minds that right-wing security policy is unattainable in reality.
The left has long argued, since the First Intifada in 1987, that force cannot resolve the conflict and negotiations are inevitable, despite starkly opposing aspirations: Israelis seek to thrive, while their adversaries aim to kill and kidnap.
These irreconcilable goals—life versus death—cannot coexist, yet the left insists on a diplomatic solution to an existential problem, where Israel is trapped on a sliver of land with those who prioritize its destruction over their own children’s welfare.
The ideological right understands the Middle Eastern reality, recognizing deterrence as the key. An enemy must know that attacking Israeli civilians will exact a heavy toll on their vulnerabilities, not ours, to allow a semblance of normal life.
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What creates deterrence? Above all, resolve. This is a battle of wills, where the first to blink loses. Yet Netanyahu’s government lacks resolve, delays decisions, sends aid trucks to the enemy and now is airdropping supplies.
Instead of clearing Gaza’s sectors systematically, evacuating civilians to a humanitarian zone with basic needs and declaring remaining areas combat zones, the government wavers. The ultimate plan should be separation, akin to U.S. President Donald Trump’s voluntary transfer proposal, justifying the effort and investment.
Another deterrent is significant territorial loss for the enemy, not symbolic but dramatic, culminating in Jewish resettlement in Gaza. This would be the ultimate punishment for murderers and their supporters, essential because coexistence is impossible when one side seeks life and the other death. Resettlement would enhance Israeli lives, providing valuable land in a country desperate for space.
Amichai AttaliYet the government fails to show resolve, rendering it unworthy of pursuing resettlement. Amid internal Israeli disputes, such a move would require a referendum or elections with parties openly committing to resettling Gaza. Ariel Sharon, running as a right-wing champion, used votes from the nationalist camp, including mine, to destroy Gush Katif. We won’t repeat that mistake.
Resettling Gaza is crucial, but first, Israel must prove its resolve to the enemy and secure public consent. If incapable, the government should admit it lacks the strength, ability, strategy—or all three.