The Gaza Yo-Yo

by Moshe Feiglin

"Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." -- Albert Einstein

Defense Minister Ehud Barak has made it clear: a major military incursion into Gaza is just around the corner.
Strangely enough, I find myself strongly opposed to entering Gaza. The world is upside down. It used to be that the Left would oppose military action while the Right would demand it. But not any more. The Left needs military action to fuel its peace processes. "Victory will create momentum for the Convergence," remember? The Right, on the other hand, is beginning to free itself of the automatic reflex that always demands to "let them have it." It is beginning to understand that military action will not necessarily defend Israel. Sometimes, it can serve the opposite purpose; government hegemony, for example.
Not long ago, a massive brainwashing campaign took place in Israel. The nation was dragged into an operation known by the Orwellian code name "Disengagement." In reality, it was the destruction of an entire settlement region, the razing of hundreds of homes and the scattering of their residents in every direction. It cost 27 billion dollars (10 years of US aid), brought terrible suffering upon ten thousand people, tore the nation apart, eliminated the final remnants of Israel's democratic culture and encouraged the enemy to attack.
We paid the price of all the above to achieve one thing: disengagement, so that "our soldiers will not have to endanger themselves in the alleys of Gaza." The truth, though, was eventually told by television personality Yair Lapid. The real reason for the Disengagement was simply to defeat the Left's political opponent.
"We had to teach the settlers a lesson," he explained.
Disengaging from Gaza was simply the excuse. So now, after we have paid the terrible price, the Defense Minister proclaims that our sons will return to Gaza. For what? To retreat once again? How can we play this cruel yo-yo game with the lives of our soldiers?
It is important to understand that when Barak announces that a military incursion into Gaza is near, he is admitting in no uncertain terms that all the concepts touted to justify the Disengagement have failed. There is no other way to understand it. If you send troops to fight once again according to precisely the same failed concept, you are simply playing with human life. After all, it is clear that even after the most successful military action, a new set of left-wing journalists and protesters will see to it that the IDF retreats from Gaza in no time. And then the Kassams will explode here once again.
Those who do not recognize their mistakes should not play with the lives of our sons. It is time to admit that the concept of land for peace and security has failed. Since this concept was adopted and applied in the Oslo Accords, we have a lot less peace and a lot less security. Many more Israeli citizens were killed in terror attacks since 1995 than in all the years of Israel's existence until the Accords were signed.
In truth, I would oppose the Oslo agreements even if they did bring peace and security. But the point being discussed in this article is whether or not the policies that engendered these agreements have achieved the goals that their proponents set for themselves. Clearly, the answer is negative. The Oslo concept, the Disengagement concept, and the concept of land for peace have completely failed.
Going into Gaza for yet another round endangers our soldiers' lives for no reason. We must understand that true security will come as a result of Jewish settlement and Arab emigration. If we return to Gaza, we must do so with the intent purpose of declaring Israeli sovereignty there, encouraging the Arabs to emigrate from there (they want to leave anyway), and rebuilding the destroyed communities of Gush Katif and the entire Land of Israel.