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The IDF Is a Moral Army that Must Defeat Hamas
(Ha'aretz) Prof. Azar Gat - I am among those who believe that the challenge in the Gaza war is existential. If Israel cannot achieve the declared goals of the war - the destruction of Hamas as a semi-state military organization with a massive military infrastructure that controls Gaza - we have no future in the Middle East. Without removing the threat and restoring deterrence, every bush-league terrorist in the Middle East could make our lives a living hell. This necessity faces the formidable military challenge of tens of thousands of armed men embedded in a dense urban, civilian fabric. There is no way to eliminate this array without causing massive destruction. Anyone who argues that it is forbidden to cause such destruction must propose feasible alternatives that would enable the elimination of Hamas in Gaza; otherwise, they are arguing that the situation in effect gives Hamas immunity. Until recently, the mainstream in the theory of just war held that every effort must be made to avoid harming civilians, in keeping with the importance of the military goal. In the meantime, a radical current has emerged in the field that calls for much more severe - impossible - restrictions on the legitimate use of force. The writer holds the Ezer Weizman Chair for National Security at Tel Aviv University.