July 8, 2014 | Quote
Hamas War Crimes Provoke Response
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Jonathan Schanzer of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, who is presently in Israel, tells me, “[Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu does not want to enter Gaza. He had been exercising incredible restraint. But 80 or more rockets in one day makes it impossible for him to simply authorize a few air strikes and go home. The longer the rockets continue, the more likely we will see a large operation.” He nevertheless cautions, “He will need to be careful, though. It is not in Israel’s interest to get into a lengthy war amidst the current unrest in Syria and the looming Iran talks. He also risks giving Hamas an opportunity to gain political clout in the region. This happens when any group fights Israel.”
If there is any silver lining to this, it is that it will almost assuredly spell the end of the “unity” government, which was already teetering. “The unity government is dead in the water. We are back to the old Palestinian dynamic,” says Schanzer. “The rockets are as much about rejecting Fatah as they are about terrorizing Israelis. The firing of rockets amidst Abbas’s calls for calm make it clear that cooperation and coordination are no longer [there].”
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