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.

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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.

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