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Source: http://www.inss.org.il/index.aspx?id=4538&articleid=12443
Maintaining Deterrence on Israel's Northern and Southern Fronts
(Institute for National Security Studies) Maj.-Gen. (ret.) Amos Yadlin - To Israel's north and south, the IDF faces terror organizations that have institutionalized and taken on characteristics of states. On both fronts, Israel has achieved strong deterrence from previous rounds of fighting against Hizbullah and Hamas, which are currently not interested in fighting with Israel. In the south, Hamas suffers from significant erosion in public legitimacy, and is a target for severe public criticism for the extensive harm incurred by the population during the last conflict with Israel and poor achievements by Hamas in that campaign. Egypt has severely damaged the tunnel smuggling system from the Sinai Peninsula into Gaza, which makes it more difficult for Hamas to restore its military might. Hizbullah and Hamas have not given up on the cause of destroying Israel, and both organizations regard military conflict as a central path to achieve this goal. Stopping them requires strong deterrence and damaging their respective military buildups. The writer, former head of Israeli military intelligence, is executive director of INSS in Tel Aviv.