Kartik Shuklapaksha saptami, Kaliyug Varsha 5114
 |
The latest Israeli offensive against Hamas’s militancy is reminiscent of the Gaza War four years ago. 1166 Palestinians were killed during the War, and as has been the case before, Hamas was defeated by an all-powerful Israeli military.
Humiliating defeat after defeat hasn’t deterred the militant Islamist outfit from its ultimate aim to reclaim “all of the holy land of Palestine.” The extremist ideology practiced by the Harakat Al-Mukawama Al-Islamiyah has wrongly emboldened their spirits, time after time, making “martyrs” of civilians, engulfing women and children in an endless conflict.
The radical group has never learnt from defeat, and though militarily inferior to Israel, it continues to pose a threat to nearly half of the population of the Jewish state. The extensive Iranian arsenal available to Hamas’s military brigades compounds its belief in the victory of their resolve.
Citizens in Israeli cities of Tel Aviv, Ashkelon and Sderot are prime targets, and even the holy city of Jerusalem, where Islam’s Al-Aqsa mosque is situated, isn’t excused from the fanaticism of Hamas. Israel has targetted over 1300 terrorist sites in Gaza since the start of Operation Pillar of Defence.
By sparring with Israel in sporadic skirmishes, Hamas continues to embroil in what is seen as a “mutually hurting stalemate” – where no side wins, as the conflict takes its toll on both Israelis and Palestinians.
Even worse for the Gazans, Israel is led by a hawkish coalition that has promised to stop at nothing to secure Israeli citizens from the threat of Palestinian militants across the border. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud and Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman’s Yisrael Beiteinu parties have declared their unrelenting resolve in rooting out any threat from Gazan terrorists.
Hamas leaders have failed miserably in drawing from the experiences of their West Bank compatriots, whose Fatah leadership is in agreement with the Israeli leadership on many issues. Primarily, what it needs to comprehend is that Israel’s destruction is impossible and unrealistic.
Hamas and Fatah have feuded over which faction really is the face of Palestine and aren’t on the same page when dealing with Israel, and otherwise. Israel has taken advantage of this dissonance, which has further protracted any resolution to the conflict.
So if history is to repeat itself, the latest offensive by Israel in Gaza isn’t going to end any other way besides a shattering Hamas defeat, albeit with the loss of Israeli lives and property.
Hamas’s ever-increasing belligerence will not destroy Israel, but may lead to its own destruction, because it cannot and will never win against Israel.
Source : Niti Central
