by Emanuel Shilo, editor of the weekly Besheva newspaper, translated by Hillel Fendel.
Our military forces in Gaza are chalking up successes and making great progress on their way to their final objective of destroying Hamas and its organized military power. We must protect our soldiers from attempts from without and within to bind their hands, precisely as they are closing in on victory.
There are a few things that I don't pretend to understand about the current war in Gaza. For instance, I don't get why our forces' progress in capturing Gaza, and particularly Khan Yunis and Rafah, can't be quicker. Neither do I get why two IDF divisions that operated successfully in north and central Gaza were withdrawn from their locations and not redeployed to southern Gaza.
Could it be that the combat has slowed down because of the need to protect our soldiers, or to prevent our captives from being harmed by Hamas, or from pressure by the US and other friendly countries? Has the Philadelphi Route in southern Gaza not been captured because of the need to avoid a clash with Egypt?
Success after Success
All of the above is likely true, but the fact is that we find ourselves in the fog of war, both militarily and diplomatically. Even with this lack of clarity, however, there is nothing blocking us from seeing a simple and very gladdening fact: Our forces are chalking up success after success as they grind down the Palestinazi enemy, dismantle its brigades, cut down hundreds and thousands of its terrorist fighters, obtain more and more vital intelligence, capture objective after objective, and destroy more and more fortifications and weapons. International experts on "warfare in built-up areas" have nothing but admiration for the progress of the 98th Commando Division and its supplementary forces facing a sophisticated underground fortification system that no army in the world (!) has ever had to face.
The IDF will apparently need at least another three months to dismantle the remaining Hamas battalions and complete the conquest of all of Gaza. If we can only manage, with G-d's help, to meet the challenges of the international and domestic efforts to tie our hands, then our number-one objective of this war – the destruction of Hamas' military ability – is within our close reach.
At the same time, Israel must also invest more firmly in terminating Hamas' governmental apparatus. The distribution of necessary food and medical supplies must be effected by us, not by Hamas and not by Hamasniks dressed up as UNRWA officials. The population of the towns and villages that we have captured must come under Israeli military administrative control.
IDF Gov't in Gaza
Any delay in establishing an IDF military administration in Gaza, like that which governed Judea and Samaria – and Gaza – for many years after the Six Day War, plays into the hands of Hamas. It also threatens the many achievements that we have already made. Wherever a governmental vacuum remains, Hamas will enter.
Blocking the Trucks!
Over the last two weeks, we have been seeing an increasingly popular and effective protest tool effected by families of hostages and of fallen soldiers, as well as citizens across the spectrum. They arrive daily at the Ashdod port and the Kerem Shalom crossing and physically block the passage of trucks filled with "humanitarian aid" to Gaza. For one thing, it is known that these supplies go first to Hamas and its leaders, to promote their personal, governmental, and terrorist objectives. In addition, Israel has the perfectly justified right to condition its supply of humanitarian aid on a humanitarian Hamas approach, if such a thing exists, towards the hostages.
And another thing: If we of the home front do not maintain a level of unity and cohesiveness, this can only harm the spirit of the soldiers on the military front. Yes, we want instinctively to be attentive to the needs of the hostages and their families, but we cannot therefore accept absurd demands that are liable to endanger our attainment of the all-important goal of victory over Hamas.
Elections Later!
This is also not the time to engage in early national elections, which by definition is a time of divisiveness and the opposite of what is needed for a united war effort. It is legitimate to call for early elections – but they should be held after the war is over, not before. There is even room to consider whether elections should be held before the commission of inquiry (which will certainly be appointed) releases its conclusions. For how can we decide which of the politicians is worthy of our electoral trust based only on partial information and a one-sided media campaign?
Another call from certain sectors of the population can also not be agreed to, and that is that we accept nearly every Hamas demand, no matter how ridiculous, for the sake of receiving back home our fathers, brothers, sisters, and children from Hamas captivity. With all the sorrow, pain, and empathy, we must remember the heavy price we ended up paying in other blackmail deals, such as the 1,027 terrorists – including Yahye Sinwar – Israel released in exchange for Gilad Shalit, and of course the ten Israelis murdered by some of them in the years following. The current demands to release a tremendous number of terrorists, including cold-blooded murderers, makes such a deal totally insupportable.
Even more insane is the Hamas demand that Israel give up everything it gained in this war – that has cost us nearly 250 casualties as of now – and allow the Palestinazis to continue to reign in Gaza. To accept this crazed notion is something that no other country in the world would ever do.
The Only Way
The way to achieve the release of our hostages is to keep on destroying Hamas until we can rescue them militarily, or until the last of the terrorists remaining alive offer a deal with a reasonable price.
Israel was dealt a shattering blow on October 7th, but now it is on the verge of a great victory; if it is achieved, its strategic value will be of inestimable value, but if we miss it, the damage will be similarly inestimable. For the sake of the future of the State of Israel, and for the sake of our children and their ability to live in a country where another Oct. 7th cannot happen again, we must make sure to resolutely reject all pressures from without and within, and keep our eye on the goal of destroying Hamas. Our forces in Khan Yunis and throughout Gaza are moving forward to this goal, day by day, step by step. Our job is to support them, with prayers to the G-d of the armies of Israel, with encouragement, and with help to the families on the home front – and certainly not to disturb and distract them with petty arguments and weakness of spirit.
This past week, a public mini-storm arose as a result of an infuriating army drill in the Central District (Judea and Samaria). The drill involved, in part, a scenario in which IDF soldiers were to envision the Jewish residents of a pioneer community in the Shomron as "enemies" who had kidnapped an Arab from a nearby village. This, in the middle of a war in which the soldiers of these communities are paying with their lives in high numbers.
Public ire in the entire religious-Zionist and nationalist camps was both strong and justified. Even Prime Minister Netanyahu came out publicly against this injustice done to the pioneer public. He demanded an investigation and answers from the IDF as to how this decision could have been made. As a result, both the Chief of Staff Hertzy HaLevi and O.C. Central Command Gen. Yehuda Fuchs acknowledged the mistake and publicly apologized.
Most unfortunately, this incident became a divisive political football. Benny Ganz - who acted responsibly nearly four months ago when he left the opposition to help form a unity government for the duration of the war - attacked Netanyahu's above response in a most irresponsible manner: "The Prime Minister's decision to use the incident [of the anti-settler drill] in order to harm the IDF and its cohesiveness stemmed from political motives and was unnecessary; it itself requires an investigation and an apology from him before the IDF and all the citizens of Israel." It's not at all clear what fault Ganz found in Netanyahu's correct words, especially given the apologies by HaLevy and Fuchs. It appears that Ganz was the one who harmed national unity for political motivations, not Netanyahu.
This case shows clearly how important it is for both sides of the political spectrum to ensure that narrow political interests, even if they cannot be totally erased, do not bring them to make wrong strategic decisions or harm the "public togetherness" that is so necessary for our military victory.