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In reply to the discussion: Israel air strike 'hits charitable association for disabled' in Gaza [View all]The Magistrate
(95,241 posts)If an Israeli government adopted a policy of not retaliating to provocations from Hamas, the response from Hamas would be simply to increase the number of provocations until that policy became insupportable in a democracy where people clamored for protection. The sum and substance of Hamas militant action is to provoke retaliation from Israel, which will in large part fall upon non-combatants, by the very nature of Hamas operations, the dense urban terrain, and the power of the weapons employed. The soundest line on which to press a case that Israel is following a poor course is simply to point out that Hamas has succeeded in forcing its will on its enemy, which is considered about the worst thing a combatant force can suffer strategically. It is a suicidal, self-destructive, and deliberately criminal will, since it envisions as its goal the killing of people it uses as human shields, but it is nonetheless the will of Hamas, and they are calling the tune the IDF is dancing to....