Israel is currently in the midst of a ground invasion of Gaza. I believe that this is a huge mistake for several reasons. Israel is needlessly risking the lives of 20,000 soldiers during the invasion and there is no clear goal or defined success.
The reason behind sending Israeli soldiers into Gaza is mainly to avoid Palestinian civilian casualties as a result of a prolonged air strike campaign. If I was an Israeli I would be outraged that my government values the lives of Gazan civilians more than the lives of their own citizens. Unfortunately it is to be expected that the invasion of Gaza by a large military force will yield high casualty rates amongst Israeli soldiers. I would understand a large scale invasion if Israel was going in to overthrow an unpopular government or had the slightest chance of changing the reality on the ground. But I predict that this exercise will do nothing for Israel's strategic benefit. I envision Israel going in, suffering casualties and high amount of international condemnations, and succeeding in stopping or significantly diminishing the amount of rockets fired for a short time, several months perhaps. But as soon as Israel leaves, Hamas will fill the vacuum and emerge more powerful than ever. Several years from now, Israel will look back on this venture as pointless since it's likely to find itself in the same predicament as before it took action.
I do have an alternative plan. Israel needs to seize all attacks for 48 hours and give all Palestinian civilians time to flee to Egypt. At the end of the 48 hours, I would like to see a sustained carpet bombing of Gaza, since everyone who stay will be fair game. Once there is a sustained amount of damage inflicted, tactical units of the Israeli forces will be allowed to enter Gaza to mop up any resistance. At the conclusion of the operation Israel will give the Egyptians a choice to either annex Gaza and take responsibility for all of its residents or turn Gaza into an uninhabited Demilitarized Zone. If Egypt accepts the proposal, Israel can pay the Palestinians some sort of compensation for their property, which would be substantially less expensive than the prospect of continued military hostility. By turning Gaza over to the Egyptians, Israel will solve two problems. They will no longer be dealing with a rogue state on their border, and will be able to hold the Egyptians accountable for any attacks. Secondly, the problem of a continuous Palestinian state would be solved.
My solution might not be the only correct way to resolve the situation, but what Israel is doing right now is nothing short of pointless. That being said, I wish for the Israeli soldiers to stay safe and Israel finding a bit more peace in 2009.
What would America, Russia, China, France, or UK do if this happened to one of their cities?......Well France would surrender, but what about the rest?
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