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Israel's 2014 Gaza War Backfires
by John M. Curtis
(310) 204-8700
Copyright
September 2, 2014
All Rights Reserved.
Battling for six
weeks between July 8 and Aug. 26, Israel and the militant group Hamas battled to
another Mexican Standoff, the same outcome that took place in 2012. Hamas militants proved they could
take a punch and still stay on their feet so to speak, unless you consider the
body count and decimation in Gaza.
If your counting the 2,143 Palestinian deaths compared to only 68 for Israel,
the scorecard puts Israel squarely in front.
Israel’s central argument during six-week war blamed Hamas for putting
civilians in harm’s way, placing rockets and rocket launchers into civilian
areas. When Egypt finally brokered
a “permanent” ceasefire Aug. 26, Hamas had received none of its demands,
including ending the seven-year blockade started June 14, 2007 when Hamas
militants led by 51-year-old Ismail Haniyeh seized Gaza from 79-year-old Mahmoud
Abbas and the Palestinian Authority.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu walks a razor’s edge placating
Israeli conservatives led by his Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman and others
oriented toward ending the war. In
the end, Netanyahu accepted the Egyptian ceasefire proposal that ended the
fighting and kicked the real peace can down the road. But no sooner did the dust settle in
Gaza did the Israeli government announce taking another 1,000 acres in the West
Bank to continue settlement activity.
Israel’s PR machine tried to put the onus of the war on Hamas for
continuing the battle at the expense of Gaza citizens. Ramallah based PLO Chairman Mahmoud
Abbas ripped Hamas to keeping the war going without having anything to show for
it other than more destruction to Gaza’s infrastructure and Palestinians
civilians. Regardless of all the
suffering in Gaza, it looks like rank-and-file Gazan’s agreed with Hamas.
In a blow to U.S. and European Union Mideast policy, Gazans expressed unequivocal backing of Hamas. With all of Hamas’s propaganda,
Gazan’s believe they won a glorious victory against Israel. Forget about all the deaths and destruction.
Just holding their own with the Jewish State was apparently worth all the death
and destruction according to a new poll.
A new poll conducted by the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey
Research’s Khalil Shikaki indicates that 61% of Palestinian would pick Haniyeh
over Abbas in a new election.
Haniyeh’s approval ratings jumped 20% from his 41% figure in June. Israel hoped that a prolonged
conflict would sicken Palestinians to their leadership but the exact opposite
occurred. Consistent with
other painful initiations, the more folks suffer, the more they’re committed to
the cause of liberating Palestine.
Shikaki’s polls showed that 79% of Palestinians believe they won the war
with Israel, with 86% believing they should resume rocket fire if the blockade
isn’t lifted in the near future.
Seventy-five percent of Palestinians in the poll believe Hamas should not
disarm, a key demand by Netanyahu for any resumption of direct or indirect peace
talks. With billions of dollars in
destruction to Gaza’s infrastructure and over 100,000 Gazans homeless, Hamas
decided to take a pause to rearm.
There’s no evidence that Hamas will not start shooting rockets and digging new
tunnels into Israel given a little time.
Netanyahu faces some tough choices either promoting the conditions for a
new war or dealing with substantive issues.
Calling for “a more reasoned approached,” Israeli Finance Minister Yair
Lapid questioned Netanyahu’s appropriation of 1,000 acres of land in the West
Bank.
State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki expressed “deep concern” over
Netanyahu’s decision to confiscate more West Bank land. Regarded as Palestinian land,
whether or not it’s a spoil of the 1967 Six Day War, it’s counterproductive for
Netanyahu to kick more sand in Palestinians’ faces. “These steps are contrary to
Israeli’s stated goal of negotiating a permanent status agreement with
Palestinians, and it would send a very troubling message if they proceed,” said
Psaki. Netanyahu most likely wants
to use the land as a bargaining chip in any final status agreement. Unlike Haniyeh that scored points
against Israel, Netanyahu took a hit in Israeli polls following the war. No one in Israel believes they lost
the war. Israelis wanted Netanyahu
to do more to neutralize Hamas, despite growing casualties. Netanyahu won’t compromise Israeli’s security in exchange for a future peace deal.
Netanyahu’s move to seize more West Bank territory for possible
settlement building was done to retaliate against Hamas. Seven weeks of war in Gaza left
Netanyahu essentially empty-handed, despite killing a lot of civilians and
devastating more of Gaza’s residential property.
“We are also very concerned by reports that new settlement and East
Jerusalem construct or planning announcements may be issues at any time,
including for the sensitive areas of Giv’at Hamatos in East Jerusalem,” said
Psaki, sending a loud message to Netanyahu to back off. Under President Barack Obama,
U.S.-Israeli relations have hit a six-year low since riding high during the
administration of former President George W. Bush. Netanyahu hopes to buy time for the
next two years until the U.S. picks a new president. With Washington more polarized than
ever, bad relations with Israel could tilt voters toward the GOP.
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