Amos Harel- 28/12/2007

Amos Harel, (Haaretz)

"We are being told that very little is happening to secure the release of abducted Israel Defense Forces soldier Gilad Shalit, but the media is ripe with reports about the details of a deal that may be taking shape. We are promised that there is nothing to talk about with Hamas, but there is no end to the discussion about an emerging tahadiya (cease-fire) between Israel and the Palestinian terrorist organizations in the Gaza Strip. Is this not much ado about nothing?

The questions one must ask are: Who is disseminating the information to the media, who stands to benefit from its publication and what interests underlie many of the reports? There are, of course, actual developments on the ground: Hamas' political wing is in fact showing interest in a cease-fire. Egypt has renewed its mediation between the two sides for a Shalit release; Hamas may soon provide a new list of prisoners whose release it demands, and may display greater flexibility. But the progress made in all these channels was inflated, in collaboration with the media, which was too eager at times, and those who leaked the information (most of them from Israel's political echelon), who benefit from a rise in the general level of optimism.

Why is this happening just now? Apparently it is connected with the burning political- security question looming as 2007 comes to a close: To occupy Gaza or not to occupy Gaza? There is no great enthusiasm for such a move. It is hard to find broad support for a large-scale operation in the levels above the GOC Southern Command, Major General Yoav Galant, and the commander of the Gaza Division, Brigadier General Moshe Tamir. It seems as though the wave of reports is aimed at preparing the public for the possibility that the government will forgo a big operation at this time and continue to absorb sporadic Qassam rocket fire at Sderot, provided Hamas does not overdo it.

A temporary truce will render moot the urgency of the arguments being voiced by proponents of a ground operation. No one is going to war over a Hamas munitions buildup. One can already hear the counter-arguments from the political echelon: a cease-fire will also make it possible for Israel to improve the protective facilities in Sderot (first for homes, then for a missile-interception system). After all, is Israel going to war again on the northern border against Hezbollah, which has improved its rocket deployment north of the Litani River?" 

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