The Price is Heavy, That's Why We Must Keep Fighting

by Itamar Segal, prolific columnist, translated by Hillel Fendel.

Wartime, painful as it is, requires courageous leadership that understands that victory is the only option. Any withdrawal or "deal" will worsen the situation. Leaders must withstand pressure – and that's what Netanyahu is doing. 

What we are experiencing in Israel now is exactly what war looks like: hard, painful, costly, and replete with cruel dilemmas of life and death.

Any decision to bring a brigade or division into refugee camps near Jenin or Shechem, or into the streets of Khan Yunis in Gaza, is necessarily accompanied by a high risk of holy and brave soldiers paying with their lives, as well as wounded who will remain incapacitated or restricted for the rest of their lives.

It is precisely at these so difficult moments, when our hearts and emotions are stunned at the cruel Hamas slaughter of six of our brothers and sisters after nearly 11 torturous months in captivity, that our leaders must exhibit maturity and responsibility – even if this means something that much of the public cringes at and does not accept: continuing forward in the war effort with full force.

The abysmal Oslo process, and our hasty getaways from southern Lebanon and the critically strategic Philadelphi route bordering Gaza and Egypt, are what brought upon us the wars that we are now fighting north and south. Similarly, our release of some 6,000 Palestinian terrorists in the two Rajoub deals of 1983 and 1985, in exchange for the release of a total of 9 IDF soldiers – led to the Shalit deal in which over 1,000 terrorists, including the Satan himself, Yihye Sinwar, were freed in exchange for one soldier, Gilad Shalit. And it was this that led to over 1200 deaths in the Simchat Torah massacre nearly a year ago, plus over 220 Israelis taken hostage.

Now, with 700 additional deaths during the course of the current war, our leadership must tell the nation very clearly the painful truth: "There is no choice: We must win this war decisively and absolutely. We cannot release mass murderers, we cannot retreat from Gaza, we cannot fuel Satan's stockpiles of evil. We have paid heavy prices, and we will continue to have to pay more of the same – and still and all, we have no choice but to continue."

At moments like these, we must direct our pain to the right address: cruel revenge upon the enemy in the form of a war of destruction against Hamas and Islamic Jihad and their supporters and helpers – no matter how much time it takes, no matter how much it costs, no matter how many dead, hungry, sick, and homeless result in Gaza. 

PM Netanyahu 

Whoever is partner to the evil accusations, whether directly or merely by insinuation, that Prime Minister Netanyahu is apathetic, or worse, to the fate of the hostages – has a full share themselves in pushing off their arrival home for who knows how long. Those who blame Netanyahu for the situation simply strengthen Hamas' positions in whatever negotiations are taking place, and give Sinwar pure enjoyment at the internal strife in Israel. "Look at that!" he marvels. "I just murdered six hostages – and the Israelis blame Netanyahu and demand that he cave in!" 

No, it's not Netanyahu. Those who kidnapped our Israeli citizens, tortured them, and murdered them – people of Hamas – are the ones at fault here, and it is they and their countrymen who must pay the price, with compounded interest. 

Opposition Leader Lapid and others, such as Ganz, Barak, and even Bennett, are abusing their role as leaders who know the truth: Hamas does not want a deal, and whatever conditions they "accept" can be acceptable to Israel only if it wants to commit national suicide. 

The Philadelphi Route that Israel's Cabinet voted this week, nearly unanimously, to refuse to vacate – even at the possible cost of a half-baked deal for the release of some of the hostages – is not simply a token issue. This route is a bona fide expressway for the smuggling of arms, other weapons, explosives, etc., with Egyptian backing, via which our soldiers and citizens were slaughtered and killed in battle – and the Gazans hope to continue doing so. 

Retaining Philadelphi, and the Netzarim route as well, is not only a tactical necessity; if Hamas takes over these areas, they will provide victory photos for Hamas that will make their mark in the entire Arab world, from Lebanon to Iran to Syria to Yemen, and will crown Sinwar as a historic Arab hero on the scale of Salah a-Din. The consequences will be another Oct. 7th, or even worse. 

Netanyahu has a significant, though far from exclusive, share in the formation of the situation that led up to Oct. 7th. He was the one who, pressured by the public and hollow promises by the security establishment, released Yichye Sinwar and 1,026 other terrorists for Gilad Shalit; he supported the withdrawal from Gush Katif in critical Knesset votes; and he propped up Hamas with suitcases full of cash on the assumption – supported by the Shabak, etc. – that its alternative would be even worse.

And yet, Netanyahu is emerging at this time as a leader of true stature who understands, almost alone, the importance of the hour. We cannot sweep away his actions that contributed to the situation, together with the deep decay that has pervaded the senior military establishment in Israel – but now that we are in the position that we are, Netanyahu is standing without bending against an incredible onslaught of pressures, threats, virulent protests and strident media opposition. He is proving to be strong against the United States, the security establishment, and even against his own Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, all of whom are pressuring him terribly to accept a terrible deal, instead of pushing with full force for victory over the enemy. Netanyahu is resolute in maintaining the military achievements that we have won thus far, and in striving for victory – even in the face of the tragedy of the families of the captives. 

"Let us be strong and strengthened" – despite the tremendous pain – "on behalf of our nation and on behalf of the cities of our G-d" (Samuel I 10,12). Let us pursue our enemies and catch them, and let us not return until they are wiped off the face of the earth.

Nothing Less Than Victory – and Restoration of Israel's South and North – Will Do!

by Rabbi Yoel Bin-Nun, translated by Hillel Fendel.

In the face of the American bear hug embrace for Israel in the form of weapons, supplies, and international support, the State of Israel has two ways to wage this war - our 8th War of Independence - that has been forced upon us. 

The first way is to do so quickly and decisively, setting facts on the ground. This is how we did it in the Six Day of War in 1967, in which I had the privilege of serving as a soldier in the 55th Paratroopers Brigade, and which changed the face of the region, if not the world. 

The second way is to have on ongoing war of attrition, in which every Israeli initiative is subject to American approval, even if only retroactively. This is, sadly, the current state of affairs.  

If we would have merited to have a true national unity government, as we had on the eve of the Six Day War, we might have been able to win decisively and quickly in both the south and north, with full control of Gaza and southern Lebanon. 

This would have enabled the State of Israel free rein to distribute the humanitarian aid safely and fairly; to block up and flood tunnels; to block off fuel and electricity to the enemy's command tunnels; and to force Hamas to transfer all the hostages to Egypt, with which we would then negotiate their release. As it is now, we are negotiating their release with murderers whose hold on the hostages has no legal basis [as opposed to official prisoners of war], with the constant fear that they could be murdered at any moment. 

Such a situation would also have enabled the complete return of the tens of thousands of residents of the southern and northern communities to their homes and the rebuilding of their towns. This, in fact, is the most important criterion of total victory!

What prevented the fast, decisive victory? One reason is the deep mistrust that prevails within the Israeli political leadership. The second is the intense fear of most of our political leaders to openly confront the American administration, which would be liable to result in a dangerous isolation of Israel in the UN and the world. Instead of a quick and sharp victory, the war is ongoing and slow and costs us heavily. 

And so, the final Biden-Harris administration tally (so far) is that it has put the brakes on a decisive Israeli victory, saved Hamas because of Qatari and Egyptian pressure, forced Israel to wage its offensive in a slow and surgical manner, and prevented a decisive offensive against Hizbullah in the north. 

Still and all, Israel was successful in destroying some 80% of the tunnels under Philadelphi, while Egypt looked on and did not interfere. Israel's insistence on continuing to hold this corridor is one of the main points holding up the as-yet unspecified agreement with Hamas regarding the release of some of the hostages. 

In answer to those who, with and without military qualifications, claim that we actually don't need Philadelphi because "the IDF can go back and retake it whenever it needs to," we say this: This is the same nonsense they spouted 19 years ago when we left Gush Katif. Retaking it this time has cost us many soldiers' lives, and the same will be true if we have to do it again – many more than the living captives that we may be able to save if we leave Philadelphi now.  

We cannot ignore the fact that the US helped us greatly this past April in our successful toppling and intercepting of hundreds of rockets that Iran fired at us. However, the US also did not allow us to follow up with a counter-attack that would have allowed us to smash Iran's capabilities and provide us with many years of peace. Instead, we have an ongoing Iranian threat for another offensive, which could happen at any time Iran chooses. 

The same was true in the north. When Hizbullah was threatening vengeance upon Israel for having eliminating Hamas leader Abu Haniyeh in Beirut, the Americans allowed us to carry out a pre-emptive attack. They did not, however, permit anything more, which could have led to a striking defeat of Hizbullah, and which would then have enabled the return of the northern communities to their homes.  

Thus, the American bear hug does not allow us a true victory in the north. For there is no way the residents can return if Hamas continues to man its rocket-launching posts and threaten the thousands of Israeli homes in their sights. Can you imagine if the Six Day War had ended without the IDF taking over the Golan Heights from the Syrians? Could the communities in the northern Jordan Valley or in the Galilee have possibly survived under such conditions?

Yes, it would be a great psychological victory if we could eliminate Sinwar and free the captives alive, without having to release terrorist murderers or retreat from Gaza. But even in such a scenario, there can be no true victory without the complete rehabilitation of all of our northern and southern communities. Nothing less will do!