Benny Morris
NY Times, Apr. 11, 2024
“… the spectacle of Israeli weakness — as much as a Rafah offensive — could tempt Hezbollah to gamble on a full-scale war.”
Unfortunately, Benjamin Netanyahu is right — “unfortunately,” I say, because he is the most incompetent, corrupt and divisive Israeli prime minister ever, as many in Israel believe. But he is right that it’s crucial for Israel to conquer Rafah and destroy the Hamas battalions ensconced in that city at the southern end of the Gaza Strip, protected by a human shield of some 1.4 million residents and refugees from the north.
If this does not happen, Hamas will survive to fight and murder and rape another day — and its leader, Yahya Sinwar, will emerge from his hiding place declaring victory. And he will be right. For Palestinian-Israeli peace to have any chance, for regional stability and for the future welfare of Israel and Israelis, especially those living in the south of the country, Hamas must be obliterated.
Whether Israel will actually attack Rafah or whether it could carry out such an assault to what it considers a successful conclusion is still up in the air. This week, the Biden administration strongly cautioned against a full-scale invasion of Rafah, saying it could be enormously harmful to civilians and ultimately hurt Israel’s security. Mr. Netanyahu said on Monday that a date for an invasion had been set, although he didn’t specify what it was.
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