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Agreeing to a Ceasefire Will Reduce Israeli Deterrence to Zero
(Israel Hayom) Amb. Michael Oren - Israel cannot agree to a ceasefire. A ceasefire means a victory for Hamas, which will immediately begin planning its next terrorist attack. It means death for Israel, which won't be able to restore basic security to its border residents, or even to those in the central region. It means that Israel's deterrence will be weakened and reduced to zero. Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited Israel last week to propose a "humanitarian pause." The Israeli government responded that they could not agree to a limited humanitarian ceasefire without the early release of the captives. The Israeli public has not seen any humanitarian aid for its captives in 30 days. Moreover, Israel is aware that Hamas will exploit such ceasefires to reorganize and seize a significant portion of the aid being sent to Gaza. At the same time, there is a strategic need to maintain a united front with the U.S. So far, President Biden has supported Israel, both in words and deeds. Israel will soon need another supply of munitions from the U.S. Hamas doesn't deserve a ceasefire, not even for a few minutes. Nevertheless, to maintain U.S. support for our security mission, we must seriously consider the demands of the Americans and work to find common ground for agreement. The writer was Israel's ambassador to the U.S. and a deputy minister of diplomacy in the prime minister's office.