Israel Matzav: Stupidity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result

Tuesday, July 15, 2014

Stupidity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result

Our Prime Minister has convinced his cabinet to accept the Egyptian cease fire offer effective at 9:00 am on Tuesday. Once again, Hamas will live to fight another day. Hamas has not accepted the 'cease fire' and since 11:00 am there have been six Code Red warnings and a seventh missile that fell without a warning (link in Hebrew). Why is Netanyahu doing this? Because it will give us legitimacy to go in and fight Hamas if they don't keep the 'cease fire.' Does that sound familiar? It ought to. It's what we've done every single time we've 'mowed the grass' rather than getting rid of Hamas once and for all. And each time we have had less and less international support after the 'cease fire.'

Diplomatic officials said the security cabinet's decision to halt the operation at this point will give Israel international legitimacy to continue with widespread military action if Hamas does not stop its rocket attacks.

The eight-person forum also decided that if Hamas violates the ceasefire, Israel will act forcefully. Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman and Economy Minister Naftali Bennett are believed to have voted against accepting the deal.

The security cabinet also decided to launch an international campaign aimed at dismantling Hamas' rocket stockpiles, and closing the tunnels inside Gaza.

The officials said the ceasefire does not include any conditions, and rolls back the situation to where it was before Operation Protective Edge was launched last week. For instance, there is no Israeli agreement to release Hamas members, freed in the Gilad Schalit exchange but re-arrested in the West Bank following the abduction and murder of the three Israeli teens last month.

Israel also gave no commitment, as Hamas was demanding, regarding opening border crossings into the Gaza Strip.

According to the ceasefire proposal, after some 48 hours representatives of both Israel and Hamas will go to Cairo and work out the details of what is expected to be a more long-term deal. Israeli officials stressed that the Israeli team, which has not yet been named, will speak only with the Egyptians, and not with Hamas.

This is the same model of dialogue that was used to bring about the Schalit exchange in 2011, as well as the understandings that followed Operation Pillar of Defense in 2012.

In a related development, US Secretary of State John Kerry, who was at one point expected to travel to Cairo on Tuesday from Vienna, is now not expected to do so.

I get Netanyahu's obsession with Iran. But wouldn't we be better off getting rid of Hamas now rather than letting them hide in the brush and come back to bite us when we're trying to get rid of Iran? This 'cease fire' is a really bad idea.

Labels: Barack Hussein Obama, Binyamin Netanyahu, cease fire, Gaza, Hamas, Iran, John Kerry, Operation Protective Edge