The "Iron Swords" war is waged on two paths. The military-political establishment sees as its main goal the elimination of Hamas, or its control of Gaza, and at least the neutralization of its military wing, while the families of the abductees are willing to give up everything and release thousands of Palestinian murderers, and the key word in their demand is a deal "now."
In the terrible and justified anxiety of the families of the abductees, there was a demand to give up the military maneuver or at least postpone it, and in the government's response there is wording that seeks to weave together the strategic goal with the humane attitude.
In those distant and beautiful days of the university and research institutes, there were "war games" on this issue, designed to examine the maximum possibilities (something that Benjamin Netanyahu should have initiated when reading Avigdor Lieberman's accurate forecast from December 2016, and was not done).
The opening question could have been: Radical Muslims in Dagestan took control of a plane carrying 230 Israeli passengers and managed to hand them over to the Hamas regime in the Gaza Strip. Is Israel mobilizing 350,<> reservists and going to war?
There may be conflicting answers, but there is a high probability that an overwhelming majority of Israelis would say no. Such an answer is consistent with the Jewish classic that "the captives are no more redeemed than their imagination." There are agreed-upon ways of negotiating prisoner release deals against Palestinian murderers imprisoned here.
Given the concern that 500-400 granddaughters and grandchildren would be killed in a military operation that would free 230 abductees, it is reasonable to assume that only fading governments with feelings of guilt would accede to the demand. This is not the case with regard to the strategic path that seeks to crush Hamas. In combat units, which will find themselves in the first line of fire, the recruitment rate for reserve duty has reached 150% compared to Order 8 that was activated, since there is broad agreement to pay a heavy price, provided that the residents of Sderot and Nahal Oz in the Negev, and Kiryat Shmona and Manara in the Galilee, no longer live under the constant threat of mass slaughter.
This does not mean that the families of the abductees are prevented from crying out to the heart of heaven. In one of the previous deals, Lehi heroine and later MK Geula Cohen was asked what she would have done if her son Tzachi Hanegbi had been taken prisoner by the Palestinians. "I would turn tables in the Prime Minister's Office," Cohen replied, "but I tell the government in advance: Don't listen to my voice."
It is clear that the release of the abductees ranks high in the activity of the military establishment. Both because "Israel is responsible for each other" and because it is a heartbreaking issue, because being held captive in Gaza is a resounding national disgrace. But the nation's emotional need to see the abductees at home must not make their release the main issue, at the expense of what Israel has defined as its strategic goal. Golda Meir felt guilty for not preventing the Yom Kippur War, and made the return of prisoners the main issue of her activity, which was a mistake. Just as Benjamin Netanyahu is liable to act in this spirit if he is unable to bring Israel the main achievement of eradicating Hamas.
In one of the previous deals, Lehi heroine and later MK Geula Cohen was asked what she would have done if her son Tzachi Hanegbi had been taken prisoner by the Palestinians. "I would turn tables in the Prime Minister's Office," Cohen replied, "but I tell the government in advance: Don't listen to my voice."
There is another example of examining the issue using the technique of a "war game": both IDF Spokesperson Daniel Hagari and Ehud Yaari on Channel 12 News spoke at various levels about the possibility of bringing fuel into the Gaza Strip as part of a deal to return the hostages. But withholding fuel (unlike water) is not a humanitarian crime (but little for hospitals). Such a step, in addition to the air strikes and slow ground activity, is essential for removing terrorists from the tunnels, swarms and swarms.
Netanyahu's understandable human need to bring the hostages home could derail the collapse of Hamas if Israel agrees to bring more fuel into Gaza than is needed for the actual patients in Gaza hospitals. The correct wording is that there is no fuel as long as Hamas controls the territory, "judgment will be fixed on the mountain."
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