Sharon Jr. Displays a Bit of (Too-Late) Wisdom

Make Gazans choose

Gaza Strip residents must reject terrorism – or face the consequences

...As usual with this government and the person who heads it, it chose to do a little of this and a little of that: Partial humanitarian pressure on the one hand, and limited military activity on the other hand. But as we know, a little of this and a little of that is not enough of both.

...Seemingly, Gaza residents should have maintained a quiet border with Israel. After all, they received something they were never given before: They are their own masters. The Egyptians did grant them this option before 1967 and nobody else granted them this opportunity either. This is the first time they can manage their own affairs. Yet still, they support terrorism and give it shelter.

This is an extreme situation and therefore it requires an extreme solution. The civilian pressure on the population should bring about an end to rocket attacks on Israel. I’m not talking about curbing the flow of water, food, and medicine, yet all the rest should be curbed completely.

The State must openly and courageously face the High Court of Justice and say: “This is Israel’s foreign and defense policy. We are obligated to do it in order to protect our citizens, and this is better both for Gazans and for us over a large-scale operation in the Strip that would involve losses among our troops and among the civilian population in Gaza.”...

...Even if ultimately we are forced to embark on a broad Gaza operation, we must not approach it as if it’s a surgical operation requiring microscopic levels of accuracy. Rather, we must call on the civilian population to evacuate its homes. We must fight in order to win, but without risking our troops needlessly. It is better to see a whole Gaza neighborhood turning into ruins than seeing funerals for our soldiers.

...We must tell Gaza residents: “One way or another, quiet will prevail here. You can choose whether this will be done through sitting in the darkness or through turning your backyards into ruins.”

The dilemma should be shifted to them. They should choose how they want quiet to be achieved.