And Thanks to Anshel Pfeffer

Truth will out.

In fact, there’s a verse in Psalms 65: that reads, in Hebrew:

אֱמֶת מֵאֶרֶץ תִּצְמָח וְצֶדֶק מִשָּׁמַיִם נִשְׁקָף.

which translates as

Truth flowers out of the earth; and righteousness looks down from the heavens.

And such an appropriate reference, for the name of the Haaretz newspaper in Hebrew is “the earth.” And from the heavens looking down is what the air force does. To explain:

Forget religion.Forget history.

Forget archaeology.

Forget international law.

Anshel Pfeffer of Haaretz explains, on the background of ISIS in Sinai, why Israel must retain control of Judea and Samaria:

Airstrikes alone, no matter who carries them out, are not enough to wipe out ISIS in Sinai. Before ISIS came along, the original group, Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis, was a local insurgency made up of disgruntled members of local Bedouin tribes, reinforced by Islamists who had fled Cairo and other cities. They are fighting on home turf, among their own people; they know how to blend into the villages and mountains.The Egyptian army…[is] not equipped and trained to fight an asymmetrical battle in terrain where they are regarded by many as foreign occupiers…The army barely manages to control the main coastal road and at night the soldiers cower in their armored vehicles.

By the end of 2016, airstrikes had decimated ISIS’ fighters; they were down to about 300 men and their leader was killed. But the Egyptian army failed to pursue its advantage on the ground…Just as in last year’s battles of Mosul and Raqqa it took a ground force to finally rout ISIS from its main strongholds, so too Israeli air support and aid from the US and other Western states will not be enough to defeat Wiliyat Sinai unless Egypt’s own forces begin pursuing the insurgents on the ground.

There you have it:
Air control insufficient. Ground control paramount.  So simple.

Oh, and one really not need to forget religion, history, archaeology and international law. Or other elements justifying Israel’s continued control over Judea and Samaria.

Thank you Anshel. Thank you, Haaretz.