Hamas Will Soon Pay Price For Traditional Arab Talent For Misjudgment
Y-Net:
Terrorism is a strange business. Terror groups usually fight stronger armies, and must therefore walk a fine line. As long as they stick to persistent low-intensity warfare, they can deliver painful blows without prompting an overwhelming response. Yet ironically, attacks that are “overly successful” can be a terrorist’s worst enemy.
A nation that sustains an unusually difficult blow is willing to adopt measures that it normally would not. We saw this with America’s harsh response to the September 11 attacks, and on a smaller scale in Israel’s response to the wave of suicide bombings in March 2002.
For many years, Palestinian terror groups heeded this lesson. Their success was moderate, yet repeated attacks eroded Israel’s sense of security over the years. Yet fortunately for Israel, here too the Palestinians showed that their reputation as the world’s worst decision-makers was well deserved. Their unique talent for misjudging reality, perhaps the most blatant of all Palestinian qualities, came back to haunt them again.
The suicide terror wave of 2002 culminated in the bloody Passover attack at a Netanya hotel that killed 30 people. Yet the customary Palestinian festivities in the wake of the “grand operation” were short lived. The shocking attack prompted Israel to launch operation Defensive Shield, which shattered the West Bank’s terror infrastructure. In subsequent years, Israel’s terror death toll dropped rapidly, from a peak of close to 450 victims to less than 15 last year. No less significantly, Israel’s tough response shattered Fatah, the strongest of all Palestinian organizations, which has not recovered since.
Now, Hamas is moving closer to making the same mistake.
The fundamentalist Islamic organization is known as a pragmatic group, yet it too is apparently not immune to the Palestinian “I-want-more” syndrome. Emboldened by repeated success in recent years, most notably its elections victory and violent Gaza coup, Hamas just couldn’t hold back.
Step closer to the abyss
For seven years, rockets have been raining on Sderot, gradually eating away at residents’ resolve, but causing a low casualty toll that kept Israel from responding in kind. Yet Hamas was apparently dissatisfied with the slow progress, smuggling in longer range missiles, and recently started targeting a much larger city, Ashkelon. That was a major mistake.
Now that 250,000 Israelis are in rocket range, the threat has taken on increasingly strategic dimensions. Israel simply cannot live with such situation over time. Operation “Warn Winter,” which claimed more than 100 Palestinian lives in a matter of days, was a first, relatively humble warning shot. Thursday’s massacre in Jerusalem, regardless of who committed it, was another step that brings Palestinians closer to the abyss, as the anger it aroused brings Israel a step closer to taking the gloves off.
Despite their claims to be thoroughly familiar with Israeli realities, our Arab enemies have failed time and again in gauging Israel’s mood. Hizbullah leader Nasrallah, previously a self-proclaimed “Israel expert,” has already admitted that he completely misjudged Israel’s response to the abduction of its soldiers. Similarly, Hamas is now walking down the same path.
The undercurrents may not be readily apparent, but they are there, and they are getting stronger with each passing day. Israelis are quickly approaching the “critical mass” that would prompt an all-out response. Hamas, which is busy declaring victories, organizing triumphant parades, and handing out sweets in the streets of Gaza, may also be forgetting that at the end of the day it is quite isolated internationally. Even most of its Arab brethren don’t care too much about its fate these days.
On top of that we should count an army hungry to prove that its performance in Lebanon was merely an aberration. This time around, troops have been preparing for months. Unfortunately for Hamas, it is about to pay the price for Israel’s failure in Lebanon. A moment before it hits the abyss, will Hamas be able to regain its composure? Past experience shows that the likelihood of that is slim.
Hamas, beyond being a terror group, is a popular movement that is deeply entrenched within Palestinian society. As such, it cannot be fully eliminated or destroyed. Yet it can be brought to its knees and significantly weakened; the countdown to that has begun.
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Let them Israel tanks roll, and let the tracks crush the bones of these Godless heathens once and for all!
March 7th, 2008 at 2:07 pmI hope Israel gets in there and kills them all…it should teach the palestinians as well as other terrorist groups a lesson
March 7th, 2008 at 2:11 pmI do not believe Israel can be made completely safe while one believer of the Quran is alive; but there is something vaguely satisfying about contemplating the destruction of murderous thugs like Hamas.
If they spent the money they now spend on weapons and terror training instead on building homes, infrastructure, and their economy, there wouldn’t be any “refugee camps” and a Palestinian State (other than the one most folks now call Jordan) would be a reality or unnecessary. After all, not all Israeli citizens, soldiers, or even Parliament members are Jewish…
Same with Fatah. When Arafat died, he left a little over $2 Billion. Think about the suffering that could have cured if the money was spent for the people and the hate speech and terrorism were replaced with words and deeds of friendship.
Sadly it won’t happen. As long as Israel exists, the Quran is a lie…
March 7th, 2008 at 2:14 pmI’ve been saying for years that Israel was encouraging more attacks by not responding. Looks like they’re coming to the same conclusion.
March 7th, 2008 at 2:59 pmThe time is right for Iran to feel the weight of the world and more. Cut off the head the snake will die.
March 7th, 2008 at 3:05 pmMike Mose’ idea is the only way to do it. The Iranian regime has to be taken down before we can come close to eliminating the threat. They fund most international terrorism, harbor and train them as well.
March 7th, 2008 at 3:31 pmAgain and again I find myself back at the Bible and its prophetic writings; it is very clear that on the last days the edomites/philistines will be wiped out by someone/push God’s people bad enough and the response will be terrible indeed. And by the way for those of you/brothers/that dislike Syria rest assure that as it is written Damascus will become a heap that will never again carry the title of city.
March 7th, 2008 at 6:02 pmI really must protest “America’s harsh response to the September 11″
Ha what a joke it has not been harsh enough.
The person who wrote this is an idiot.
The cronies of Iran are still in power. The House of the Devil (saudis) still rule and on and on….
One life taken by the enemy is too much and always deserves a beat down but alas innocent people die and their loss is acceptable because they are dieing one by one? and not all at once?
March 7th, 2008 at 7:37 pmThe logic of this escapes me…the loss of one deserves the same beat down as the loss of many.