(Institute for Contemporary Affairs-Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs) Pinhas Inbari - The latest round of fighting in Gaza has shown that Israel cannot risk the threat of Gaza chock-full of missiles threatening its citizens and constantly disrupting the country's routine. Israel's strategic goal is to disarm Hamas. Unlike its provision of electricity, Israel currently provides only negligible quantities of water to Gaza. Gaza's water crisis was created completely by Hamas and the Palestinian Authority before it, and was not caused by any Israeli action. On the contrary, Israel is the only actor capable of extricating Gaza from the crisis, meaning that it has a lever to help achieve strategic objectives. Israel must avoid being drawn into the water issue as a "humanitarian" concern; it must instead present it as a political issue, expressing willingness to supply the residents of Gaza but only in return for the dismantling of the terror infrastructure.
2014-08-15 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive