We are at a crossroads. The entire nation is waiting to receive news. Perhaps, despite the difficulties, we will hear that there has been a breakthrough in the negotiations for a ceasefire and hostage release deal.
But, if as it now seems, no deal will be reached, Israel threatens to insert itself into a self-made trap. The idea that is now being promoted by Defense Minister Israel Katz and by Bezalel Smotrich, who is also a minister in the Defense Ministry, is to build a "humanitarian city."
3 View gallery
Bezalel Smotrich, Itamar Ben-Gvir, Benjamin Netanyahu Eyal Zamir
(Photo: Shalev Shalom, Alex Kolomoisky, IDF)
They believe they will be punishing or threatening Hamas and its hold on the residents of the Strip but will, in fact, be presenting Hamas with a gift and punishing Israel.
What happened to the notorious Jewish smarts?
We saw the Jewish brain in action in the pager attack on Hezbollah. We saw it in strikes on Iran. But now, there it is missing in the war against Hamas.
We are nearly two years since the October 7 massacre and the IDF has to repeatedly take over the same territory in Gaza. For two years, the strongest military in the Middle East is unable to defeat a guerilla group that is exacting the high price of nearly one casualty per day. Two years during which Israel's standing on the international stage has deteriorated.
And if the suffering thus far has not been enough, Smotrich is dragging Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Katz into a terrible situation. People I've spoken to describe the idea of a "humanitarian city," with shock and horror. "This will never happen," one person told me in an effort to ease my mind. I hope he is right.
But everything about this war has gone wrong. Who could have foreseen the situation Israel is now in, with troops fighting Hamas terrorists in Beit Hanoun, again, just one kilometer away from Sderot? And now two ministers charged with our security are trying to drop us further into the mud.
How do you push up to one million people into an area that has been demolished? Will they be housed in tents? Mobile homes? Who will see to the humanitarian infrastructure required in the "humanitarian city?" Who will provide health care? Has anyone given this any serious thought?
The government throws orders at the military, to do things that cannot be done. What do they expect? Do they want IDF soldiers to hand out food to a million Palestinians? To deal with the sewage? Where do they expect the manpower for such an undertaking, come from? Do they expect more reserve troops to be called? Will they even show up for such a task?
Get the Ynetnews app on your smartphone: Google Play: https://bit.ly/4eJ37pE | Apple App Store: https://bit.ly/3ZL7iNv
This will make the battles against Hamas terrorists at Beit Hanoun seem like a walk in the park. This coalition would not skip any self-inflicted act of madness including this one.
And what of the reaction in the world? Israel can no longer afford to pay for its mistakes when it does nothing but promote international boycotts. Thousands of defenders online will not help against the flood of condemnations that will surely come if this folly is allowed to proceed. Even before it is underway, we are already accused of building a concentration camp.
Ben-Dror Yemini Photo: Yuval ChenAnd how is the IDF to act amid growing concerns that it is committing war crimes? There will be thousands of cameras documenting every old woman who refuses to move to the humanitarian zone. What is the military to do with those who insist on staying where they are? What will be the cost? Israel's situation on the international stage is grave and stands to be worse.
What more will Smotrich and Itamar Ben-Gvir demand? Will they oust all the gatekeepers? Perhaps all of the Supreme Court Justices? But that will not stop every international tribunal that will regard every one of the soldiers serving in the IDF as war criminals.
I ask, no, I demand of the government: Do not force this on the military. Do not punish Israel and present Hamas with this gift. Find a smarter way to defeat the terrorists. The Jewish brain can surely come up with a better solution.