Why Hamas (Most Of All) And Netanyahu (For Now) Are The Winners Of This Mini-War: Avi Issacharoff, Times of Israel, May 21, 2021
“The only uncertain factor is how long this ceasefire will hold. And given the results of this mini-war, it seems unlikely it will last five months, never mind the five years some Israeli generals have said would represent a success.”
After 11 days of bitter fighting between Hamas and Israel, with more than 230 Palestinians and 12 Israelis dead, hundreds injured and thousands of Gazans having lost their homes, Hamas and the Israeli government are returning almost precisely to where they were before the start of this round of conflict.
What has happened in the last 11 days in Gaza?
Israel’s Gaza War Is Like No Other Military Operation In History – Opinion: Yaakov Katz, Jerusalem Post, May 21, 2021
Summer Rains, Cast Lead, Pillar of Defense, Protective Edge, Black Belt, and now, Guardian of the Walls.
Each one was an IDF operation in the Gaza Strip. Summer Rains (2006) went on for four months; Cast Lead (2009) three weeks; Pillar of Defense (2012) a week; Protective Edge (2014) 50 days; Black Belt (2019) less than 72 hours; and now, Guardian of the Walls, 11 days.
In the 16 years since Israel withdrew unilaterally from the Gaza Strip, we’ve had six large-scale operations, an average of one every two and a half years.
Each one had its trigger, each its objective. But fundamentally, none were different from the one that preceded it or came after it. Change the names of the IDF chief of staff, the defense minister and the top Hamas commanders, and the stories pretty much write themselves.
Col. (Ret.) Richard Kemp: Israel should be given the freedom to defend itself:
Operation Guardian of the Walls: Envisioning the End: Udi Dekel, INSS Insight No. 1468, May 19, 2021
“The strategic objective that the Israeli government should have formulated and presented is attaining control over the theater of war and preventing its expansion to additional arenas, while focusing on weakening Hamas.”
Ten days of fighting in the Gaza Strip have again illustrated Israel’s dilemma of when, how, and under what conditions the campaign should be ended. This time, the challenge is more complex than in earlier asymmetric conflicts in the Gaza Strip (and in Lebanon), because Israel has become embroiled in a multi-front campaign: fighting against Hamas and the other terrorist organizations in the Gaza Strip, religious and national tension in Jerusalem, disturbances in mixed Jewish-Arab towns and cities in Israel, and the danger of an outbreak in the West Bank and in the northern arena.
Hebrew: Flight inspectors at the control tower at Hatzor base during Operation Guard of the Walls.
(Wikipedia)
Dear AP: So Sorry For Your Loss! Fern Reiss, Isranet, May 21, 2021
Dear Associated Press,
I understand that you’re upset because Israel gave you only a ONE HOUR WARNING to vacate the building you shared with Hamas. (And then they wouldn’t give you ten more minutes to go up and get more stuff. The importance of careful packing!)
Your headline was “Shocking and horrifying: Israel destroys AP office in Gaza.”
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How Hamas Built An Underground Terror Network In The Heart Of Gaza: Jerusalem Post, May 21, 2021 — Over the last decade, Hamas has invested millions of dollars into digging extensive tunnel infrastructure below the surface of the Gaza Strip, according to the IDF Spokesperson.
With Iranian Help, Hamas Builds ‘Made in Gaza’ Rockets and Drones to Target Israel: Dion Nissenbaum, Sune Engel Rasmussen and Benoit Faucon, WSJ, May 20, 2021 — Over the past 10 days, Palestinian militants have unleashed one of the most intense attacks on Israel in decades, firing more than 4,000 short-range rockets and deploying a new, explosive drone intended to evade the country’s Iron Dome air-defense system.
The Last, Overlooked But Still Active Front Of World War II: Melanie Phillips, Arutz Sheva, May 21, 2021 — Our current convulsions, with the Jewish people under murderous and venomous attack both in Israel and the Diaspora, are far more momentous than many may realize.
Biden’s Skin-Deep Support for Israel: Caroline Glick, Caroline Glick,May 19, 2021 — Until Wednesday, President Joe Biden had maintained a fairly supportive posture towards Israel in the face of the Hamas terror regime in Gaza’s launch of its newest round of war against the Jewish state. In the first week of the new war, Biden’s administration blocked the UN Security Council from adopting anti-Israel statements and resolutions three times.
Israel Shoots Down Armed Iranian Drone: Yakir Benzion, United With Israel, May 20, 2021 — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday that the drone aircraft that was shot down earlier this week over Israel was sent by Iran.
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This week’s Communiqué Isranet is Communique: Deuxième semaine de violence (21 mai, 2021)
The Daily Briefing will not be distributed on Mon. May 24, 2021 because of Patriots Day (Victoria Day), a federal statutory holiday.
