Netanyahu doesn’t want Israel to become preoccupied with its Southern Front. A cease-fire, that was first called for by Hamas, will satisfy him now, on the assumption that it will last a few years, as did a similar ceasefire in 2014. Meanwhile, he can, with less distraction, turn his nearly full attention to the arms buildup by Hezbollah, supported by Iran, in the north. For the rulers in Tehran have done everything they can to let the world — and Israel — know that a war by Iran and Hezbollah on the Jewish state is not a question of “if” but of “when.”
Lieberman’s resignation in November made the Prime Minister appear to some, quite erroneously, as insufficiently tough on Hamas. He let loose the IAF in March with results sufficient to change Hamas’s tune overnight, and brought about its willingness to both conclude, and honor, a ceasefire. In that month, there was massive bombing after a rocket hit the Israeli village of Meshmeret. Among 30 high-value targets that the Israelis hit were the military intelligence headquarters of Hamas, the offices of Hamas head Ismael Haniyeh, and a major weapons storehouse. That was enough to get Hamas to sue for a ceasefire, to which Netanyahu agreed, in order to ensure that the attention of his military is focused further north, and especially to the problem of Iranian bases in Syria.
Though the Great March of Return continues in Gaza, its rioters receive ever-diminishing attention from the outside world, including fellow Arabs, which is not what Hamas expected. And the latest ceasefire with Hamas, that received quite a pummeling from the IAF, seems to be (mostly) holding. So Israel can return almost its full attention to bombing Iranian bases in Syria, and any weapons being shipped from those bases to Hezbollah in Lebanon. Israel still has to figure out a way to deal with those 120,000-140,000 rockets and missiles Hezbollah already has in Lebanon. Political considerations rule out a first-strike direct attack on Hezbollah’s missiles. But Israel could maneuver Hezbollah into launching an attack that would then justify a massive Israeli response. Israel could create an incident, possibly the assassination of a Hezbollah leader, so that Hezbollah feels compelled to respond, ideally with some sort of rocket barrage, thus giving Israel the excuse it needs to massively respond in turn, destroying as many weapons warehoused by Hezbollah in Lebanon as it can, before those rockets and missiles can be rained down on the Galilee.
Avigdor Lieberman has a fiery temperament; he’s famous for his outbursts. Netanyahu is sober and calculating. He’s weighed the risks to Israel of these violent exchanges with Hamas, which require the IAF and IDF focusing on the Southern Front, while Hezbollah in the north continues to enlarge its supplies of rockets and missiles. He’s concluded that the latest ceasefire in Gaza will hold for at least 5-6 months, as the previous one, concluded last November, did. After all, hat keeps the peace with Hamas is the threat of attacks by the IAF. He simply wants the Israeli military to hold Hamas to its cease-fire, not destroy the group, and meanwhile, to focus on countering the threat from Iran and Hezbollah, a problem that cannot wait.
In a few years a lot can happen. The regime of the Islamic Republic is now internally weaker than it has ever been, because of the discontent over Iran’s economic situation. Iran has been suffering from the renewed imposition of sanctions, triggered by the American pullout from the nuclear deal. It finds itself unable to sell one million barrels of oil of the 2.5 million total it had been selling before the sanctions were reimposed. More bad news: Iran’s foreign debt increased by 40% from 2017 to 2018. The Iranian riyal continues what Forbes magazine calls its “death spiral.” And to top it all off, Iran is now suffering its worst drought in at least 50 years; both agriculture and the raising of livestock have been hard hit.
This economic collapse has led Iranian crowds to shout “Death to Palestine” instead of “Death to Israel,” and “No to Syria, Yes to Iran.” In both cases, they were expressing opposition to Iran’s expensive foreign adventurism. Were these discontented to come to power, that would affect Hezbollah, which could no longer count on Iranian support. Deprived of such backing, Hezbollah might be more willing to deal with Israel, possibly surrendering part, or most, of its arsenal in exchange for Israeli promises not to attack it, but to leave the group alone, allowing it to at least maintain Shi’a dominance in both Lebanon and Syria.
Should nothing change in Iran, and Hezbollah remain the serious threat it is today, at least the IDF will now be able to devote much greater attention, and resources, to that northern threat, limiting its activity in Gaza to enforcing the ceasefire. Netanyahu could have adopted Lieberman’s line and bombed Hamas into complete submission. But if Hamas in Gaza were truly destroyed, it is Israel that would have to take control of that wretched place, to prevent anarchy and to keep the most dangerous group of all, ISIS, from assuming power. That’s a nightmarish task Israel wants to avoid. A weakened Hamas, too weak to fight Israel, but just strong enough to maintain its control of Gaza, would be the best possible outcome from Israel’s point of view. That was Netanyahu’s calculation back in November 2918, and it remains his calculation today.
Here’s a question or two for Avigdor Lieberman to consider. What must Hassan Nasrallah, the head of Hezbollah, or Ayatollah Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of Iran, now be thinking? Like you, but for very different reasons, they opposed the Israel-Hamas ceasefire. Can you think of any reason why Netanyahu’s agreeing to this ceasefire with Hamas — while firmly turning Israel’s attention back to the Northern Front, which is now the most important theatre in the Jewish state’s permanent war for survival — makes sense?
Pierre Mendes-France, the former Prime Minister of France who wisely pulled all French forces out of Vietnam in 1954, famously said that “to govern is to choose.” In Gaza, Netanyahu has chosen, wisely.
christianblood says
As the video below shows, liberal Jews in the West fraternize with Muslims after mosque attacks in New Zealand or whenever muslims in the West play victims, now close to 900 Christians are dead or wounded in this latest jihad attack in Sri Lanka and you wonder if the liberal Jews would extend the same compassionate hand to Christian victims of this jihadist mass-murder?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=1&v=sHLWjvssAag
gravenimage says
I see that christianblood is smearing Jews again for being compassionate–no surprise there. He has also condemned Israel for offering medical care to all who need it.
Of course Jews are reaching out to the Christian victims in Sri Lanka:
“Netanyahu Expresses ‘Deep Shock,’ Offers Help in Wake of Sri Lanka Massacre”
https://unitedwithisrael.org/netanyahu-expresses-deep-shock-offers-help-in-wake-of-sri-lanka-massacre/
In fact, Israel has trained first responders in Sri Lanka, and likely saved some of the victims’ lives.
I’m sure this won’t lead to christianblood hating Jews any the less, though. We know how much he hates Jews and wants to see Israel destroyed by Muslims. He screams “God bless Hezb’allah!” all the time here.
And here are Jews helping to rebuild Notre Dame de Paris:
“Two Jewish Philanthropists Pledge $122 Million for Notre Dame Reconstruction”
https://www.haaretz.com/world-news/europe/two-jewish-philanthropists-pledge-122-million-for-notre-dame-reconstruction-1.7139571
Bu then, christianblood has sneered at Notre Dame himself, saying it is a “museum” and not a real church because it is Catholic and not Russian Orthodox.
christianblood says
gravenimage
You can’t show me a Jewish group or a Jewish Synagogue fraternizing with or offering a hand of compassion to the Christian mass-murder victims in Sri Lanka just like they always do with muslims whenever muslims play victims in the West, like in the video above! Even the Jewish-dominated Hollywood rewards Oscars with mass-murdering Islamic terrorists like the Al-Qaeda “White Helmets”…
As for the misguided US Evangelicals who replaced Jesus with Israel…well, let us keep that discussion for another day!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D_MZKRG3frQ
christianblood says
gravenimage
When fire in ‘Notre Dam’ museum means more to us than 900 Christians
dead and wounded in Sri Lanka!!!
Google Searches for ‘Notre Dam’ museum out number attacks on Sri Lankan Christians 7:1
What does that tell you about the West and the people running it?
gravenimage says
There appear to be no surviving Jews in Sri Lanka, nor any Synagogues:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_Jews_in_Sri_Lanka
But that does not stop christianblood from castigating these non-existing people for not reaching out.
And he sneers at the Jews of Israel for reaching a helping hand–this does not surprise. *Ugh*.
christianblood wrote:
Searches for “When fire in ‘Notre Dam’ museum means more to us than 900 Christians dead and wounded in Sri Lanka!!!
Google Searches for ‘Notre Dam’ museum out number attacks on Sri Lankan Christians 7:1
……………………..
This is not true at all.
Searches for “attacks on Sri Lankan Christians” are 155,000,000, and “Notre Dam museum” just 3,790,000.
And what if one uses less eccentric phrasing? Yahoo lists 46,900,000 results for “fire notre dame” and 47,000,000 for “sri lanka attacks”–note that searches for the attacks in sri lanka are still higher.
christianblood does not mind dissembling or lying outright if he thinks he can make Westerners and Jews look bad.
Note that he actually has nothing critical to say about Muslims slaughtering Christians in Sri Lanka or wanting to destroy Israel.
christianblood says
gravenimage
Google searches for Notre Dame outnumbered Sri Lanka attacks 7:1
SEE IT BELOW:
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/04/google-searches-notre-dame-outnumbered-sri-lanka-attacks-71-190422090240995.html
gravenimage says
Notice that christianblood ignores the results of my own searches–ones that anyone here can easily reproduce in seconds–but instead demands that we believe *Al Jazeera*, a Qatari-funded network that regularly supports Jihad terrorism. Note that Al Jazeera offers no proof for their assertions.
Meanwhile, christianblood *still* will not say anything critical about Jihadists murdering Christians in Sri Lanka, nor their plotting to destroy democratic Israel. I can no longer be surprised by this.
CRUSADER says
Dennis Prager on the Situation in Gaza – Part 2…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qQlZDgKWTCs
CRUSADER says
THE MIDDLE EAST PROBLEM, — DENNIS PRAGER
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nC5NJzhyxmg
christianblood says
Even America with its Islamic/Arab allies, allies like Saudi Arabia, Jordan Al-Qaeda, and the oil-rich Gulf theocracies is unable to persuade Arabs to accept Israel as a Jewish state! You then wonder what all this sword-dancing is all about?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f35TUFmCtYY
gravenimage says
No, the US is not allied with Al Qaeda as christianblood constantly pretends.
And no one could get Muslims to accept Jews living in freedom–but the appalling christianblood, who lauds Hezb’allah and their Jihad against Israel, would not want to try.
CRUSADER says
Why Isn’t There a Palestinian State?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=76NytvQAIs0
gravenimage says
Little Israel is under threat from both Hezb’allah and Hamas in Gaza–and from Fatah in the “West Bank”, and from Iran, and many other pious Muslims.