(Jewish Chronicle-UK) Col. Richard Kemp - Hamas is determined to prevent Israel from destroying its ability to threaten Israel and, increasingly, the international community seems intent on helping them. As the narrative goes, whatever Israel does in its own defense, including finishing off Hamas in Rafah, is wrong and uniquely evil. The White House is apparently recommending a strategy for Rafah based on pinpoint, clinical strikes, targeting Hamas leaders. Their template seems to be U.S. special forces operations in Afghanistan, and we all know how that ultimately worked out. The Taliban survived, gained strength and eventually reconquered the country. Israel identified Al-Mawasi, a 16-sq.-km. coastal area of southwest Gaza, as a humanitarian area. It could have housed more than 2 million Gazans in relative safety, with temporary accommodation, supplies and field hospitals. But the UN and other aid agencies refused to establish this safe zone, which could have saved many lives. The defeat of Hamas may well reduce the need for a major war in Lebanon if Hizbullah is deterred by the destruction of its fellow Iranian proxies in Gaza - for the time being at least. A victory for Hamas in Gaza will certainly energize the global jihadist threat, another reason our countries should give their full backing to Israel's operation in Rafah. The writer, a former commander of British forces in Afghanistan, was chairman of the UK's national crisis management committee, COBRA.
2024-04-07 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive