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!