(TIME) Ilene Prusher - Israel pulled most of its troops out of Gaza and decided to take a completely different tack in its war with Hamas. After four attempts at a humanitarian cease-fire over the past few weeks, including a much vaunted one Friday that collapsed after two hours, Israel decided that it was no longer pursuing a truce with Hamas. Instead, it opted for a unilateral withdrawal from Gaza, except for a new buffer zone along the border, in the belief that there was more to be gained from walking away from a merry-go-round of failed cease-fires. The move also deprives Hamas of the victory it has sought. "We neutralize their main strategic forces, and leave them alone, without any achievement, without any demand, in their devastated place called Gaza," Maj.-Gen. (ret.) Amos Yadlin, director of the Institute for National Security Studies at Tel Aviv University, said Sunday. Previous negotiated cease-fires, like the one in November 2012, served to "hamper" the IDF by limiting how it could respond. By unilaterally pulling troops out of Gaza, Israel believes it has gained the freedom to act as it sees fit.
2014-08-04 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive