Bret Stephens tells us we should be rooting for the complete success of Netanyahu’s assault on Gaza, because if Hamas is destroyed, the Israeli government will be prepared to treat fairly with a more moderate Palestinian leadership. Is he right?
As if! We’ve seen this movie many times before. Israel can’t destroy Hamas, even if it occupies Gaza, because Hamas is the face of Palestinian opposition to Israel in Gaza, and thus has too much popular support. Hamas can only be eradicated in a war of extermination, which isn’t going to happen. For their part, Hamas and the other related militant groups are accomplishing nothing in a military sense by sending all of those rockets over Israel. They are just blowing off steam, as they do periodically. The episode will end in a few days or weeks with a cease-fire and lots of misery and rubble, as usual.
The bottom line with Bibi is that he doesn’t negotiate with Palestinians when the country is completely secure, because he doesn’t have to, and he doesn’t negotiate when the country is under threat, because that would be a sign of weakness and could end with an unfavorable deal. Better just not to negotiate, period.
The important development here is the violence within Israel. If Netanyahu had any sense, he would do his best to placate his Arab citizens as quickly as possible. It is much more likely that we will start hearing more loud chatter on the Israeli right about collective punishment and stripping the Arabs of their citizenship, instead.