Senior Israeli Military Affairs Media Commentator provides example of faulty logic for
stopping Rafah operation
Dr. Aaron Lerner 28 April 2024

"Israel can afford a strategic change of direction in the war
Anyone who has seen the ruins of Gaza and knows the preparations for
entering Rafah can afford maximum flexibility to bring about the release of
the hostages. Absolute victory does not exist, and senior security officials
believe the task can be completed with a different strategy and other
methods of warfare - which will allow the residents of the Western Negev and
the Lebanon border to return to their homes. International legitimacy will
be restored, and perhaps we will receive a Saudi bonus.
Ron Ben Yishai 13:05 28 April 2024 YNET
https://www.ynet.co.il/news/article/bkjiyfsb0?

IMRA: follow the logic:

One the one hand "Anyone who has seen the preparations the IDF makes for
entering Rafah and the smart plan already approved for execution understands
that the military defeat of Hamas and Islamic Jihad is within reach and that
the terror armies will soon return to being terror organizations whose
threat is lesser and which can be dealt with as terror is dealt with in the
West Bank."

And he poInts out that: "45% of Hamas and Islamic Jihad fighters were killed
or captured, and about 65% of the organization's combat infrastructure,
including tunnels, launchers, and weapons and rocket production facilities,
were destroyed or irreparably damaged."

In other words: if we don't destroy Hamas now 55% of the fighters are still
out there and they can recover starting with 35% of the remaining combat
infrastructure!

Ben Yishai calls for Israel not to carry out the operation, suggesting that
"we to change the strategy and methods of warfare, namely the tactics we
will adopt for continued fighting by other means."

He never gives any details of this magic alternative.

Ben Yishai contends that "a comparison between the situation today and the
submission of the State of Israel to Hamas when it released Gilad Shalit
from captivity is impossible. Then we submitted to Hamas without exacting a
price from it and without creating deterrence against it. We simply gave
Hamas everything it wanted."

The truth is that this time we are being asked to trade the destruction of
Hamas for hostages. This is a cost which is many magnitudes greater than
the Shalit deal.

Ben Yishai writes: ""As for the missile arsenal and other destructive tools
that the Iranians have provided to Hezbollah in Lebanon, Israel, with the
assistance of its American allies, will deal with them when the time comes
for the major confrontation with Iran regarding the nuclear issue."

In other words - kick the can down the road!

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IMRA - Independent Media Review and Analysis

Since 1992 providing news and analysis on the Middle East with a focus on
Arab-Israeli relations

Website: www.imra.org.il