Israel Matzav

Gazans are tired of fighting

In the wee hours of Monday morning, I discussed a rally held in Gaza on Sunday to commemorate the anniversary of Operation Cast Lead to which only 3,000 Gazans bothered to show up. At the time, I wondered whether

They may still love Hamas, but they are tired of fighting Israel. Or perhaps they don't love Hamas but were afraid not to show up for the rally two weeks ago.

Evelyn Gordon believes they're just tired of fighting Israel.

But the war nevertheless accomplished something more than a mere hiatus in the rocket fire: It convinced southern Israelis that their government was both willing and able to defend them. That belief had vanished over the previous three years, as Hamas rained almost 6,000 rockets and mortars on southern Israel with impunity, and the inevitable result was an exodus from the south. Now, with restored faith in their government’s willingness and ability to protect them, they are willing to risk round two.

And that, ultimately, may be the war’s greatest accomplishment. Deterrence is important, and Sunday’s rally shows that the war in fact achieved it: By staying away en masse, Gaza residents made it clear that they know they lost, and are anything but eager for a repeat. And since Hamas is not immune to public opinion, that means it will probably be some time before it tries again.

Sounds good to me.

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 2:30 AM