Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is under the gun from both ends of the political spectrum for his policy of overlooking Hamas in Gaza. His critics offer few alternatives, not even his former defense or education ministers. It's hard to accept what is happening to us: 14 years ago, then-Prime Minister Ariel Sharon led a unilateral withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, without reaching any deal with the Palestinian leadership under PA President Mahmoud Abbas, and without really knowing what would happen in Gaza after our withdrawal. The Right backed him because he was the head of their camp, and the Left backed him because they were unwilling to vote against ending at least part of the occupation.
Hamas' rise to power in Gaza in 2007 turned Gaza into a launching ground for missiles fired into Israel. Israel responded with a blockade on Gaza, and in attempts to break the blockade, Hamas and the Islamic Jihad began firing more rockets. This absurd circle of Israel restricting and expanding the Palestinian fishing zone, limiting electricity to Gaza, and limiting the goods sent into Gaza – while various forms of violence are perpetrated against Israel – never stops. The unilateral withdrawal from Gaza without an agreement, which went against a deal between Israel and the PLO – according to which the Gaza Strip and the West Bank were a single political entity – let the genie out of the bottle. It's very hard to put him back in.
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There are many who would like to see a military operation restore Israeli control to the Gaza Strip or parts of it, but it would entail certain dangers: Israel would once against become responsible for the territory and supplying it with services (a major burden when talking about 1.9 million people), and the operation might also come with a large casualty count.
Netanyahu, who as a minister in Sharon's cabinet originally supported the withdrawal from Gaza and then changed his mind and left the government over it, understands both these risks. For some time, especially since March 31, 2018, when the Hamas-sponsored "marches of return" began, to find tactical solutions of one kind or another.
Some of the solutions (such as expanding or restricting the Gazan fishing zone) actually sound pathetic and pointless in terms of deterrence. Some look like giving in to terrorism and paying protection to the mafia. For a political leader who sees "leftist" as the worst possible insult and heads the "national camp," and who promised prior to being re-elected to handle Hamas differently than his predecessors and beat it down – and who espoused a policy of not buckling under terrorism for decades – this approach is problematic.
But even now, as we head into another election, and he knows that the Gaza problem is his Achilles heel that both the Right and the Left will take aim at, Netanyahu is keeping mum and opting not to respond to the people who demand that he stop ignoring the issue. His behavior is also strange in that Israelis receive news about various ceasefires – some of which include arson balloons, and some of which don't – from statements issued by Hamas. They also know that these reports are usually reliable, while the IDF Spokesman stays silent, and government officials provide anonymous confirmations of deals with Hamas – with whom, of course, it "does not negotiate."
It's time for the prime minister to give us an explanation. As usual, the best explanation is to tell the truth. It's time for Israel to announce a ceasefire or the failure to reach one and admit that it is holding intensive negotiations with Hamas – which controls Gaza – and cannot keep its head in the sand. It's time to announce whether Israel is seeking a long-term truce or a political-diplomatic solution that would include the PA in Gaza and Egypt. Netanyahu's ongoing silence about Gaza, not his cautious conduct, is the problem.
