Bibi’s Needless Rafah Revenge is Isolating Israel
During the final days of World War 2, Japan was on its knees…their military supplies were low as well as popular morale. All the US had to do was blockade the Island nation and eventually the Japanese would have surrendered…or at least that’s one rational argument on the subject.
Today Israel finds itself in a similar situation with Gaza. Hamas, we are led to believe, is at the end of its rope in Rafah. There’s no way out for their remaining foot soldiers as they either hide among the Palestinian population or cower in their tunnels.
One could say all the IDF has to do it play a waiting game until little by little the Hamas terror troops surrender, thereby, avoiding the bloodbath US President Biden is warning Israel not to cause.
And the US has experience in causing bloodbaths. America spent most of WW2 developing the atom bomb, an ultimate weapon designed to defeat Nazi Germany. Luckily for the Germans they surrendered before the bomb could be used on them.
But, then the US had this weapon that cost a fortune and years to make. The reasoning then was, ‘what good is a weapon if you can’t use it to end a war?’ The nuking of Japan killed more than 110,000 instantly and many thousands from radiation poisoning in the decades after 1945.
Now, after the October 7th massacre and the ensuing seven months of bloody warfare that has possibly caused thousands of Palestinian deaths, Israel can smell final victory at Rafah, the alleged last major concentration of Hamas terrorists.
Yet, President Biden’s red line against a major Israeli military operation on Rafah has left Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at a crossroads: Any major move to crush Hamas in Rafah could trigger a break in ties with the US, while failing to take decisive action could cause his political coalition to crumble at home.
“Israel has to make its decisions,” White House national security spokesperson John Kirby said Thursday. “We understand that, and we’ll have to make ours based on what they do. I think the president was crystal clear last night that if they do smash into Rafah, go in, and invade in a major way, he’s going to have to make some major decisions. But we hope it doesn’t come to that.” He was responding to the US putting a hold on aircraft bombs destined for Israel.
Defiantly, PM Netanyahu says Israel will go it alone if it has to. Just as Israel did in 1967 when US President Lyndon Johnson, also a Democrat, placed an embargo on military supplies to Israel at the outbreak of the 6 Day War.
But, Netanyahu’s stance seems to be based more on his own needs rather than Israel’s. Has this become Bibi’s War where he goes it alone?
There’s nothing stopping him from declaring a victory now, blockading Rafah on Israel’s side of the Egyptian border and begin rebuilding Gaza under Israeli leadership.
What about the hostages? The fact is no one seems to know where they are and how many are still alive. From past experience, Hamas will demand all of their troops released from prison for a few hostages. Playing their game will only prolong the war with their forces replenished.
As for the Hamas troops in Rafah, sooner or later they will have to appear with Israeli troops waiting for them.
A more practical approach would be to offer cash incentives for the Rafah Hamas troops to surrender and releasing all the remaining hostages.
While this may be a more sensible approach, not invading Rafah wouldn’t give Netanyahu the big win he needs to maintain his ‘leader for life’ position. Revenge against Hamas is one thing, but staying in the PM’s office is the end game for Netanyahu.
