Israel@60: Successes and failures
Last week was marked by the Independence Day celebrations of Israel's sixtieth birthday. The day's events were especially beautiful and moving. This day should also be a day for reflection and self-inspection.
What have we achieved in the last 60 years?
Comments (4)Exodus remembered
Holocaust Remembrance Day left its indelible mark on the whole of last week. At the beginning of the week, Yossi Harel was brought to rest - the commander of the ship carrying 'illegal immigrants' under the British Mandate period called 'Exit Europe' more commonly knows as the 'Exodus'.
This ship set sail in the summer of 1947 with 4,500 Holocaust survivors to the shores of Israel. The British prevented its arrival by force and after commandeering the ship still at sea, a battle broke out between the British forces and the 'illegal immigrants' and these people, after a long and difficult journey in which they wandered at sea for two months, were sent back to Hamburg port in Germany.
Keep up the pressure
The killing of a senior Islamic Jihad operative in the West Bank and the renewal of attacks on the western Negev last week only illustrated further the threat posed by Islamic terror.
These incidents brought to light the purpose of using targeted killings against senior operatives who are known to be carrying high-trajectory weapons aimed at our cities - we're not just talking about Sderot anymore and the areas in the western Negev, we are now also talking about our cities in the north.
In order to understand the answer, one must be aware of these fundamental facts:
Put an end to Hamas' regime
The deterioration of the situation is Gaza is still in full swing. The barrage of Kassams on Sderot and the firing of rockets at Ashkelon is a calculated escalation on the part of Hamas. It is a retaliatory action for the successful targeted killings of terrorists who, in the absence of the assassination on Wednesday morning, would have executed an attack that would have extracted a high price from us. It is important to mention this fact since there is a general feeling that the IDF is not doing enough and that is completely untrue.
Even so, the frustration here is still high inasmuch as the rockets keep coming despite the offensive operations that the IDF is undertaking in Gaza, and the range has been expanded to include Ashkelon. With frustrating and confusing conditions, come futile ideas - defeatist and adventurous especially. Therefore, it is important to state clearly what is possible and what is necessary.
Mughniyeh and the war on terror
There is no one in the security and defense establishments and counter-terrorism organizations who did not express joy and relief at the assassination of Mughniyeh. We've been hearing his name since the 1980s. He was one of the founders of Hizbullah which operates directly under the auspices of the Iranian regime. It was in this organization that he rose up the ranks to become 'terror chief'. Our list of scores to settle with Mughniyeh is long. It includes the Buenos Aires Embassy bombing in 1992, the bombing of the Jewish Center in that city two years later, the kidnapping and murder of 3 soldiers at Har Dov in 2000. The Americans also have a bone to pick with Mughniyeh; the marine barracks bombing in Beirut and the American embassy bombing in that city and the death by torture of the head of the CIA in Lebanon, Bill Buckley, who was kidnapped in 1984.
After Winograd
The final publication of the Winograd Committee is one of the most influential events since the Second Lebanon War. The ruling of the committee can be summarized with the following words "a grave missed opportunity". We went to war and did not emerge victorious.
The war ended as it did due to a series of errors and failures:
- Our withdrawal from Lebanon was carried out without any agreement on who would fill the power vacuum. We essentially strengthened Hizbullah and enabled them to spread out and become more entrenched on the Israel-Lebanon border.
- In the 4 years preceding the war, the IDF had been neglected in general and the ground forces in particular. Cutbacks significantly affected training operations and weapons capabilities. All military efforts had become focused on policing the territories. This is how the IDF's capabilities eroded further, including the abilities of the senior military command on the ground.
- Two years before the war, a skewed change in perception swept through the military's operational approach that led people to think that air power capabilities alone were enough to stop the onslaught of rockets that rained down on northern Israel
- The war was conducted without the setting of clear strategic and operational goals by the political echelon
- The decision to launch a major ground offensive was too hesitant and gravely untimely: "A stampede" in the words of the Winograd report
The new Gaza reality
The use of bombs to breach the border wall between Gaza and Egypt along the 'Philadelphi' route has a Hamas signature. The fact that the border is now completely open significantly changes the reality on the ground - a reality shaped by the IDF's exit and Israel's disengagement from the Gaza Strip.
From an economic perspective, the removal of the barrier holds no long-term importance. In the short-term, thousands of Gazans are able to purchase basic products at cheap prices at the Egyptian Rafah and Al-Arish. It will be "rejuvenating" for them to get out of Gaza, after the months of suffocation they underwent due to Hamas's rise to power and Israel's counter-measures since.
However, even if the border with Egypt remains open, Egypt cannot serve as the economic front that Israel had been for Gaza until last June. Poor Egypt is not an attractive destination for Gazan imports. The prices offered in Egypt for agricultural products and light industrial materials from Gaza would be much lower than the prices they would be able to obtain in Israel. No investments would be made in a Gaza run by Hamas and the destroyed private sector will not rise without economic relations with Israel. Even if this border breach is considered an achievement for Hamas, it cannot feed the 1.5 million people in Gaza.
Two grave scenarios unfolding
Last week's most pressing event was undoubtedly President Bush's visit to Israel and the Palestinian Authority. And not only because of the frustrating traffic congestion that gripped Jerusalem, the ceremonies, the dinners and the provincial bickering about who was invited and who was not.
This visit was vital for us Israelis in that the leader of the most powerful country in the world came and reminded us and the Palestinians of the importance and urgency of reaching a mutual agreement. Based on the cynical and mocking media reactions, one could have thought the conflict was Bush's problem and not ours. Alternatively, one could see Bush and Condoleeza Rice as a bothersome couple that pushes us to deal with an issue that perhaps holds no importance, for anyone.
The Egyptian-Saudi conspiracy
Since Hamas' takeover of the Gaza Strip, all border crossings have been closed between Gaza and Israel and between Gaza and Egypt.
The passage of goods for humanitarian purposes is conducted temporarily through the Sufa crossing or the Kerem Shalom crossing which is essentially a border delineation. In the tunnels dug between Sinai and the Rafiah area in the Gaza Strip - a phenomenon Egypt has still not managed to control or shut down - the smuggling of weapons and arms, money and operatives are a common occurrence.
When the time came for the pilgrimage to Mecca (the hajj), PA leader Mahmoud Abbas coordinated with Israel the passage of hundreds of pilgrims through Jordanian bridges, where once on the Jordanian side, Saudi officials were to be waiting to stamp their passports. The gesture was meant to bolster Abbas's political standing and prevent Hamas operatives from making their way to training facilities in Iran and to other meetings.
2008 defense budget dangerously lacking
Last week, the NIS 305 billion 2008 state budget was approved. In eleven votes for the budget, out of sixteen in which I participated, I was a member of the coalition. Last week, for the first time, I voted against the budget in breach of the coalition pact. Why?
It is in the social domain that the Labor faction has made respectable achievements, specifically in the cancellation of the anti-social decrees initiated by the Treasury. I've written previously on the expansion of the 'Health Basket'. May all my colleagues who worked hard for these achievements be blessed.
As a member of the special defense budget commission, in recent weeks, I have focused all my efforts on the matter. Last Monday, a final draft of the defense budget was presented to the commission as well as the works planned by Labor on which the budget was based on.
About this blog The Weekly Portion
Former Deputy Defense Minister Dr. MK Ephraim Sneh comments on the headlines of the past week.
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