Israel has a dilemma. After the October 7th<\/sup> Terror attack by Hamas, killing 1400 Israeli civilians, the Israeli government is duty bound to respond in the most aggressive way. And they have. But there are a couple of problems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The first is a long-term internal political problem of Israel itself. The government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu long had a policy of ignoring the more moderate Palestinian factions in Gaza and the West Bank. There was no \u201cnegotiation\u201d, just ultimatums, as Israel proceeded to build more settlements in the West Bank, and fully militarize the borders. That includes building a wall between the West Bank and Israel proper, one that became a model for the Trump Administration’s \u201cWall\u201d on the Southern border.<\/p>\n\n\n\n By refusing to deal with moderates and encouraging Israeli encroachment on what is considered Palestinian land, Netanyahu drove Palestinians to become more radicalized. The Hamas group became the \u201chome\u201d and representative for many of them, particularly in the Gaza region. And that served Netanyahu\u2019s own extreme political goals, forcing Israelis to \u201cchoose sides\u201d of extremism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n None of that excuses what happened on October 7th<\/sup>. But when full blame is apportioned for the current Middle East crisis, Netanyahu bears his fair share. A more moderate government, working towards the goal of a \u201ctwo-state solution\u201d, would not have fed into Hamas’s power.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Waging war against Hamas in Gaza is \u201cde facto\u201d waging war against the Palestinians who live there. Hamas has infiltrated their military infrastructure into every part of Gaza life, from residential complexes to Mosques; schools to hospitals. There is no question that Israel is fully justified in waging war against Hamas. Hamas started it. But the physical reality of Gaza is that to wage war against Hamas, Israel must destroy much of Gaza.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The rub: what of the Palestinians in Gaza, whose homes, schools, hospitals, and Mosques are destroyed? To reach the three hundred miles of tunnels Hama’s dug deep under the cities (half the size of the New York City Subway System), huge \u201cbunker buster\u201d style bombs are used. The euphemism for civilian destruction, \u201ccollateral damage\u201d, is even worse than the actual damage to Hamas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Add to that, civilian casualties. While Israel takes \u201cpride\u201d in warning the Gaza citizens to leave, evacuating a city of a million takes more than a few days. And there are always those who cannot or will not leave. It would be like telling the people of Hiroshima to leave, a couple of hours before the atomic bomb dropped.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And that\u2019s the example that the Israeli government is using: the all-out destruction of civilian cities waged by the Allies in World War II. America justified using the atom bomb based on the total warfare waged by the Japanese military. The estimated number of American casualties from a conventional invasion of Japan was more than a million. How could any American President justify that loss to the American people, without attempting to use the newly created atomic weapons?<\/p>\n\n\n\n And now, Netanyahu is talking about the “after” of Gaza occupation along the lines of the United States occupation of Japan after World War II. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Today we see the results of Israeli action. After weeks of missile and bombing attacks, Israeli ground troops have surrounded northern Gaza (Gaza City). They are now closing in from all sides, rooting out Hamas forces from their underground shelter. It\u2019s like the ancient Mongol strategy; surround the enemy, then burn and kill until the circle closes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In each Israeli conflict since the founding of the Nation in 1948, the rest of the world has interceded to stop Israel\u2019s advances. In 1956, 1967, 1973 and the long conflict at the beginning of this century in Lebanon; the forces of Israel weren\u2019t defeated. They were withdrawn, due to pressure from the world, and particularly from the United States.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Netanyahu is trying to ignore the growing pressure now, holding firm until he can reach a \u201cfinal solution\u201d for Hamas. The United States holds the key \u2013 how long before the Biden Administration threatens to reduce financial and military aid? And yet, both the internal political pressures in Israel and in the United States still lean towards allowing Israel to decimate Hamas \u2013 as long as they do so quickly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The US Administration is calling for a \u201ctwo-state\u201d solution to the Palestinian problem: a Palestinian homeland carved out of the Middle East, as well as maintaining the state of Israel. But Tuesday Netanyahu said that Israel will remain as the \u201csecurity force\u201d in Gaza for the foreseeable future. Much like the aggressive stand the Israeli military takes on the West Bank, now it will be even stronger in Gaza. No \u2018two-states\u201d, not even one state for the Palestinians. A zero state for them, occupied by Israeli forces.<\/p>\n\n\n\n That\u2019s going to be tough for the rest of the world to swallow. In 1973 the oil producers (Saudi Arabia and other Arab nations) put the \u201csqueeze\u201d on the world market to stop Israeli expansion. It was the first peacetime that Americans had to line up for gasoline. If Israel continues with its \u201cZero State\u201d solution, it\u2019s likely that the world will experience that again.<\/p>\n\n\n\nCollateral Damage<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Closing In<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Two State<\/h3>\n\n\n\n