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Source: https://www.jpost.com/opinion/article-898827
Can Israel Contain Hamas without Reoccupying All of Gaza?
(Jerusalem Post) Prof. Efraim Inbar - Nickolay Mladenov, the High Representative for the Board of Peace for Gaza, reported to the UN Security Council that establishing an effective transitional civilian authority in Gaza is not possible without first overcoming Hamas's resistance to disarming. Hamas remains the de facto ruler of the over 30% of Gaza it controls. While the IDF could take over the entire Gaza Strip - and the prospect of a "decisive" victory is tempting - the wisdom of "finishing the job" is questionable. Hamas cannot be eliminated when its ideology commands broad support among the population in which it operates. Israel has not succeeded in eliminating or disarming Hamas in the West Bank, a territory that has been under IDF military control since 1967. The conquest of all of Gaza would make its impoverished population of two million Israel's direct responsibility. A divided Gaza spares Israel this burden. Such a conquest would also transform the IDF, which currently operates in areas largely empty of civilian population into an occupation army functioning among civilians who have been educated for years by Hamas to hate Israelis. Any ambitious deradicalization project requires a multi-generational timeframe. A Hamas-controlled enclave in Gaza is therefore a bearable outcome - provided Israel uses military force periodically to degrade enemy capabilities. The writer, founder of the Jerusalem Institute for Strategy and Security, also serves as Chair of the Program for Strategy, Diplomacy and Security at the Shalem Academic Center.