The problem is that the current achievement could result in a strategic disaster over time. The officers coordinating the data find it difficult to believe that the quiet in the south since the end of Pillar of Defense is absolute. This pace receded, until the start of a new round of escalation. The IDF’s Operations Branch is comparing the data collected in the past three weeks since the end of the Pillar of Defense to the first few weeks after Cast Lead, when bombs and rockets were launched from the Gaza Strip at a rate of 2-3 events per week. In recent weeks, Hamas has taken full command and has even stopped the protests. This is despite the fact that IDF forces killed two Gazans who tried to storm the fence and wounded several other rioters. Since an hour after the end of the operation (when the last rocket was launched towards Israel) and until this weekend, not a single shot was fired from Gaza into Israel. If we examine just the tactical implications of recognizing Hamas, then the success of the effort and of Pillar of Defense is dizzying. Israel also agreed to ease the blockade imposed on Gaza and even expanded the permitted fishing areas off of the coast of the strip. With the immediate end of the fire, it cancelled the "perimeter, a 300 meter area to the west of the border fence encompassing the Gaza Strip, to which entry was prohibited since the end of Cast Lead. As a ruler, the cost of Hamas’s losses from previous rounds against Israel is higher, and by that rationale (as well as a desire to end Pillar of Defense as soon as possible), Israel gave Hamas far-reaching achievements in the framework of the negotiations. There is a certain logic in recognizing Hamas as the de facto ruler in the Gaza Strip, from Israel’s perspective. The current ruler, Muslim Brotherhood’s Mohammad Morsi (who continues dealing with his own internal troubles, due to his failed attempt to dictate a new constitution in Egypt), does not count Abu Mazen or the King of Jordan, Abdullah. However, that was in the era of President Hosni Mubarak. Thus Egypt involved the Authority in the negotiations held over the ceasefire due to previous rounds of combat, such as operation Cast Lead in 2009. It isn't as though Israel did not consider Hamas to be responsible for events transpiring in the Gaza Strip, but it made sure to honor the Palestinian Authority headed by Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen), at least symbolically. During operation Pillar of Defense, Israel made a decision of historical significance - to recognized Hamas as the full sovereign in the Gaza Strip. In order to understand the new reality, a fact should be noted that has not been significantly discussed, and which it is doubtful that even one percent of the Israeli populace is aware of. The near-total calm that characterized the years 2008-2012 is a thing of the past. This is more than just violence: the IDF and the Shabak are already regarding to the new situation there as the start of a new defense era. “There was and will not be a government that will take better care of the Jewish settlement in Judea and Samaria….The numbers for the first half of 2017 are the highest since 1992,” Lieberman added, noting that 3,651 new housing units were approved during the week preceding his comments, bringing the total for this year to 8,345 units.Īs defense minister, Lieberman is responsible for authorizing each new construction approval issued by Israel’s Civil Administration High Planning Subcommittee.ĭuring a ceremony last week at the Israeli Knesset to mark the Gregorian calendar’s 50th anniversary of the Six-Day War, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pledged to “preserve” and “strengthen” Israel’s settlement enterprise in Judea and Samaria.The silence that has prevailed around the Gaza Strip has led to a rise in the level of violence throughout the Judea and Samaria region. “Anyone who claims that it was possible to approve more construction in the settlements is not just trying to stretch the rope but to tear it completely, thereby endangering the entire settlement enterprise,” Lieberman said at the Israeli cabinet’s weekly meeting, responding to recent criticism from community leaders in Judea and Samaria who claimed current construction levels are insufficient. (JNS.org) The number of buildings being constructed in Judea and Samaria is at its highest in more than 20 years, and any additional construction would put the Jewish communities in the disputed territories at risk, Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman said Sunday. Credit: Michael Thaidigsmann via Wikimedia Commons Pictured Above: Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman.
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