search
Andre Lajst

The power of deterrence

The power of deterrence is a powerful and well-known tool used by countries to prevent or attempt to prevent another country or entity from attacking.

It works as follows: If the benefits of attacking the enemy will be greater than the destruction inflicted in the enemy’s expected counter attack, then the attack should be executed. If the benefits will be outweighed by the damage, then the attack should be avoided.

The power of deterrence has always been applied to countries or groups in other countries, and in our days, it tends to be applied against terrorist groups; but in vain! Terrorist groups have a different set of values as to their profits and losses analysis. This can be seen in how Hamas operates, clearly compromising thousands of houses and hundreds of combatants, hundreds of operational facilities and funds, for an endeavor which their benefit (by western standards) was catastrophic! Hamas knew how destructive the Israeli retaliation would be, but to them there is no importance or responsibility as a country or entity to see to their people’s security and overall well-being. What they see as their rational way of thinking is for from what we see as rational thinking. Hamas needed this destruction so that it could ultimately negotiate with Israel, set demands, and if only one demand would be met, Israel’s deterrence over Hamas would be dangerously affected . There is no need to compromise with Hamas.

Every negotiation needs to be based around negotiations with the Palestinian Authority and concessions must be made only by disarming Hamas and the continuation of the peace process. If there is even one concession, Hamas will sing its songs of victory, and according to their ideology, the ends always justify the means.

About the Author
André Lajst, originalmente de São Paulo, fez Aliah em 2006. Ele estudou Bacharelado e Mestrado na IDC Herzlyia onde se especializou em Governo, Politica, Contra-Terrorismo e sobre o conflito árabe Israelense. André serviu ao exercito de Israel por 2 anos onde foi pesquisador na força aérea. Hoje André mora no Rio de Janeiro onde é Diretor Executivo do Hillel Rio. André também é palestrante sobre diversos temas de Israel e conflitos na região. Andre Lajst, originally from Sao Paulo Brazil, came on aliyah in 2006. He studied for his BA and MA at the IDC in government, specialising in Counter-Terrorism, Middle East and Homeland Security. Andre served in the Israel Air Force as a researcher for two years. Today André lives in Rio where he is the Executive Director of Hillel Rio and lecture troughout the country about the Israeli Palestinian conflict and peace process. Andre can be reached at : andrelajst@gmail.com