by Dr. Guy Bechor, gplanet.co.il, translated by Hillel Fendel
In this translation of a short video, political analyst Dr. Guy Bechor emphasizes that a Palestinian state is an existential threat to Israel.
Middle East geopolitical expert Dr. Guy Bechor says Israel must maximize its gains from the just-completed military Break of Dawn Operation. He told Israel's Channel 13:
"How can we ensure that after the recent Break of Dawn, something will truly change, and we will not have to repeat it again soon? Only by a ground-force attack that will destroy Hamas. But the problem with that is once we do that, the world will come and say, "Great! Now you can allow a [Palestinian] state in Judea, Samaria and Gaza" – and this will mean that we will have lost strategically. I therefore categorically state, and have been saying so for years, that we must first of all liquidate the Palestinian Authority in Ramallah, and thus end any talk of a Palestinian state. We can call this "Ramallah first," along the lines of what we used to hear "Gaza first [to be given over to PA control]." And then we should go to Gaza and finish the whole thing, once and for all.
"But unfortunately, our defense establishment is not interested in this approach. It rather sees [PA chief] Abu Mazen [Mahmoud Abbas] as an asset that must be protected, both financially and security-wise.
"From our standpoint, Hamas is a tactical [short-term] threat, while the PA is a strategic [long-term] threat. Strategically speaking, you have to sacrifice a bishop for a queen, and not vice-versa. Because if a US administration comes along one day and decides that there has to be a [Palestinian] state, our state [Israel] is finished. If only Hamas remains, without the PA, there will be no threat of the formation of a Palestinian state.
"… I can say something positive that resulted from this Operation Break of Dawn. Hamas found itself totally alone, severely breaking its morale, and the same for Islamic Jihad, causing it great despair as well. As far as the Arab nations are concerned – not only are they not interested in the goings-on in Gaza, they actually pleased that these Islamist organizations are being hit hard. We also see how the West is reacting; in Great Britain, for instance, we saw yesterday that Foreign Minister Liz Truss, who is running for Prime Minister there, said she would consider moving the British capital to Jerusalem if she is chosen, and apparently she will be. So the West is standing at our side, because they also face an Islamist threat. That's what Gaza is: an Islamist entity."
Question: Do you really think that when the average American or Australian or European wakes up in the morning and sees the destruction in Gaza, he thinks of an Islamist threat to the world? He just sees a strong state, Israel, wreaking havoc on the weak Palestinians!
Bechor: "The world doesn't care at all. After all the destruction they have seen in Ukraine, nothing moves them anymore. Israel is no longer of great interest to the world media; we are a marginal issue. Even the Arab countries don't care! They would actually be happy if Hamas would be destroyed, for Hamas is their enemy, a part of the Islamic Brotherhood. Turkey is trying to get on Israel's good side, and issued some kind of murky statement about Break of Dawn. Iran is far away and has its own problems. Things have changed over the past few years; we're no longer in 2014 [the year of Operation Protective Edge]…
"To return to Great Britain, note that its GNP per capita is $51,000, while Israel's is $55,000. This means that Israel is a central player that leading countries want to be involved with. The Islamist organizations are isolated, both in the West and in the Arab world. We now have much room for maneuver that we did not have before. Keep in mind that [PA chief] Abbas actually has no control in any of the PA cities [except for Ramallah]. In Jenin, it’s the Islamic Jihad that rules, having formed a Gaza-like enclave there; if PA police try to come in, they'll be slaughtered.
"In conclusion, I repeat that the only arrangement that can work in Gaza is for us to solve the Ramallah [PA] problem first of all. Yes, there will be anarchy, but the PA is a strategic threat for Israel."
Bechor also added an interesting note regarding Iran's influence in the region: "Iran has planted three fronts in the region: One front is Syria, where we're allowed to attack and the Iranians don't respond; the second is Gaza, where we're allowed to attack and they do respond; and the third is Lebanon, where we don't attack and they don't respond. That's the general picture that we have to remember…"