"Americans are crushing"
“The land operation with the involvement of large forces, oddly enough, may turn out to be much more humane with respect to the Palestinian civilian population, among whom the terrorists are hiding,” Israeli political scientist Benny Briskin told VIEW newspaper. The government of the Jewish state ordered the generals to be ready for a possible ground attack on the Gaza Strip.On Tuesday evening, on the approach to Tel Aviv, the Iron Dome missile defense system hit a missile launched from the Gaza Strip. This is the first shelling of the city since November 2012 of the year, when the “Cloud Pillar” special operation was conducted in the Gaza Strip. There were no reports of casualties as a result of the shelling and any damage.
The head of the Israeli government, Benjamin Netanyahu, held a meeting with leaders of security agencies earlier Tuesday, ITAR-TASS reports. A government source who wished to remain anonymous said that Netanyahu had ordered “to prepare for a thorough, lengthy, voluminous and forceful campaign” in the Gaza Strip.
As the newspaper VIEW wrote, Palestine and Israel exchanged air strikes for the last three weeks. On Thursday night, the Israeli Air Force struck the Gaza Strip, which the military called the response to continued Palestinian shelling.
A Hamas spokesman in Gaza, Fawzi Barhum, said that the organization had prepared a list of various targets in Israel, and that "if the Israelis want to continue to exist, they must install an Iron Dome in every house."
The former consultant Netanyahu, political director of the Russian Jewish Congress, political scientist Benny Briskin spoke about the likelihood of a ground attack on the Gaza Strip in an interview with the VIEW.
VIEW: Mr. Briskin, why in Israel are we so sure that it is Hamas behind the killing of teenagers? Has his guilt been proven?
Benny Briskin: Of course, this is absolutely verified information. Knowing who killed, these people were already in Israeli prisons and were released during another prisoner exchange deal. Both indirect and direct evidence indicates that this is Hamas.
In addition, the opposition is whipped up by Hamas in the first place, there are no other forces, there are small groups that cannot organize a high-quality abduction, disappearance, hide and so on - what Hamas is able to do. When shelling comes from Gaza, there is definitely no need to guess anything. If it quacks like a duck, walks like a duck, then it is a duck, not a crocodile. It is impossible to conduct mass shelling from Gaza without the organization, which is actually a government, knowing nothing about it and not suspecting it.
VIEW: What is the probability of a land operation?
B. B.: It depends on the decision of the government. There are quite powerful forces that are in favor of the land operation, in particular, Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman and his Russian-speaking party, as well as several ministers from the Likud party itself. The decision is made by the Prime Minister, and it will depend on how the events unfold, and on the behavior of Hamas in the first place - a terrorist organization that provokes Israel to a land operation.
It is difficult to understand why they need it. Until recently, it was believed that escalation is not beneficial to anyone. But after the abduction and murder of three young people and the escalation of the situation as a whole, apparently, it is out of control. The government is forced to respond to the actions of Hamas terrorists, and it is unlikely that only air operations can be limited.
LOOK: In your opinion, what forces are putting pressure on Netanyahu to limit retribution only to air attacks?
B. B.: These are everlasting vibrations. Firstly, there is a press in Israel, which is mostly left-handed and has a certain pressure on the government. There is an opposition within the government. There is still the West, the United States led by Barack Obama, who is not a fierce supporter of Netanyahu.
When Americans need to make such decisions, they do not consult with anyone, and when the Israelis need to do the same, they are pressured. But often it turns out the other way around - as a result of a land operation, the cleaning is done surgically pointwise, and thus it is possible to prevent victims.
It should be understood that air raids, so that they are effective, can lead to serious losses. In principle, a land operation involving large forces, oddly enough, may turn out to be much more humane with respect to the Palestinian civilian population, among whom the terrorists are hiding. Therefore, today all the pros and cons are weighed.
But, on the other hand, peacekeepers do not like the land operation, President Obama does not approve, so the Americans are pressing today for the land operation not to be.
VIEW: How do you assess the role of American diplomacy? Can it be said that her attempts to reconcile the Jews with the Arabs failed again?
B. B.: What to evaluate it? What kind of diplomacy there is, if more than 20 years the Oslo agreement, and it did not give any results. In addition, Israel had to part with some part of the territories that they controlled, and there was peace.
It is perfectly clear that this is a complete failure of American diplomacy. At least in this direction, as in many others. But who will allow such things to say in the face? The United States remains the guarantor of Israel’s military power, so it’s not very common to talk about it.
Information