Once the Israel Defense Forces’ primary “target bank” ran out, it was junior-ranking Islamic Jihad members' turn to be hit. If things continue at this pace, in the coming rounds, neighbors of jihadis will be targets, too. After all, why'd they choose to live there?
At the moment, thanks to the IDF, the saying “my home is my castle” has become “my home is my grave.” This can be attested to by 8-year-old Ali, 12-year-old Miar, 5-year-old Hajar, 10-year-old Lian and 5-year-old Tamim of blessed memory.
Vanity brings hollow arrogance. Senior officials on the Israeli side sought a cease-fire without committing to stopping targeted killings. As an Arab poet once said: “Every disease has a cure, except stupidity – which makes those dealing with it miserable.”
But all of this pales in comparison to National Security Council head Tzachi Hanegbi's demand that Islamic Jihad hold its fire. In other words, total surrender. Even Napoleon was more modest. Eventually, the depressing reality caught up with this Israeli Bonaparte, leading him to adopt the slogan "quiet will be met with quiet," as if he hadn't just stated the exact opposite.
For the first 36 hours after Israel bombed Gaza, the defense establishment was stunned. How could it be, they wondered, that the Palestinians hadn’t immediately responded? Isn't that protocol? Cruelly, the Palestinians waited until it suited them to respond. Then, everyone could relax. Everything was back to normal. The regular routine of rockets and aerial bombing had been restored.
The absurdity of the situation is rampant. The two sides are fighting a war of attrition. One possesses the most advanced weaponry in the world, the other only homemade weapons – yet this asymmetrical power balance seems to be working. After each Israeli aerial bombing, carried out by dozens of aircraft, the Palestinians respond with missiles soldered in a neighborhood workshop. What we have here is a new David and Goliath, in which David fights alone – without Hamas.
Now, the time has come to settle accounts. IDF Chief of Staff Herzl Halevi is requesting billions of shekels for the military budget. After all, ammunition must be replenished. The ultra-Orthodox are also demanding more funding – but at least the money they get won't be soaked in Palestinian blood.
As Gazans are now forced to spend massive amounts of money to restore everything Israel destroyed, I naively thought that if the billions spent on this round of fighting were instead invested in the rehabilitation and prosperity of Gaza – it could have paved the way to reconciliation. But such an illusion is absurd under the logic of militarism.
Militarism is an enterprise that supports tens, perhaps even hundreds of thousands of people, making it difficult to forgo welcome confrontations with the Palestinians. It's an important source of revenue. Does that mean the decision to allow Islamic Jihad prisoner Khader Adnan to die of his hunger strike in prison was a calculated one? The IDF knew his death would spark a conflagration. But business is business.
Columnist Ben-Dror Yemini appeared to be frightened by the humanity and weakness of the newspaper he writes for, Yedioth Ahronoth, when it published a page-eight story on victims of Israeli airstrikes at the start of the campaign, titled "10 innocent fatalities." He had to quickly calm his concerned readers on the paper's dangerous departure. To do so, he resorted to invoking 1948, Israeli poet Natan Alterman and David Ben-Gurion.
Israel's first prime minister should have been mad when Alterman wrote a poem titled "Al zot," meaning "About this," in protest of Arab civilian casualties during Israel's War of Independence. Instead, he welcomed it, asking that it be distributed to soldiers. Ben-Gurion had no other option, and despite this facade of empathy, hundreds of thousands of Palestinians were expelled from their villages – including my parents, who were from the Galilee village of Ma'alul.
Israel had it both ways: It carried out a population transfer and managed to maintain a clean conscience. But the world has changed. No amount of bleach could cleanse the consciences of those who kill children in their beds from their fortresses.
The Absurdity and Tragedy of Israel's Bloody Gaza Campaign
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16.05.2023
Once the Israel Defense Forces’ primary “target bank” ran out, it was junior-ranking Islamic Jihad members' turn to be hit. If things continue at this pace, in the coming rounds, neighbors of jihadis will be targets, too. After all, why'd they choose to live there?
At the moment, thanks to the IDF, the saying “my home is my castle” has become “my home is my grave.” This can be attested to by 8-year-old Ali, 12-year-old Miar, 5-year-old Hajar, 10-year-old Lian and 5-year-old Tamim of blessed memory.
Vanity brings hollow arrogance. Senior officials on the Israeli side sought a cease-fire without committing to stopping targeted killings. As an Arab poet once said: “Every disease has a cure, except stupidity – which makes those dealing with it miserable.”
But all of this pales in comparison to National Security Council head Tzachi Hanegbi's demand that Islamic Jihad hold its fire. In other words, total surrender. Even Napoleon was more modest. Eventually, the depressing reality caught up with this Israeli Bonaparte, leading him to adopt........
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