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Last update - 01:36 13/01/2009
The danger of politicization
By Haaretz Editorial
Tags: israel, hamas, gaza 

As the days pass, there is growing concern that Operation Cast Lead is undergoing a process of politicization, and that the internal power struggles are undermining the ability of the transition government to reach an agreement.

The objectives of the operation and the new conditions for its conclusion, which have been set forth by Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, sound much like those he enunciated in his speech before the Knesset on July 17, 2006. Even then, he declared that the Second Lebanon War was aimed at bringing about a complete cease-fire along the northern border, the deployment of the Lebanese army throughout all of southern Lebanon, removing Hezbollah from the area, and the complete eradication of the missile threat against Israeli civilians. The result, obviously, was different.

Olmert is now once again rebuffing international initiatives, including the UN Security Council resolution for a cease-fire. In closed-door discussions, he has even vowed that the war would press on until the Hamas regime in Gaza is toppled. On the other hand, deputy prime minister Tzipi Livni and Defense Minister Ehud Barak have expressed reservations about deploying the IDF into the heart of Gaza City, even though there have also been disagreements between the two.
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Livni proposes ending the military campaign without a diplomatic agreement that would entail recognition of the Hamas government, while Barak prefers concluding the operation with an improved cease-fire, which would include reaching understandings with Hamas. Both, however, do not offer a new blueprint for relations between Israel and the ruling power in the Strip for the day after the war ends, and both also ignore the fact that it is impossible to continue to keep 1.5 million citizens under a demoralizing siege.

Despite the excessive use of force, which is inflicting heavy losses and damage to the civilian population in the Strip, the operation is garnering a consensus among public opinion makers. The government and most of the opposition supported the war against Hamas, and they expressed the widespread feeling among the public that this is an " involuntary war," whose objectives are defined and agreed upon.

This pervasive mood, which has followed the combat troops and has eased the burden on the residents on the home front, has grown more potent in light of the readiness on the part of the decision-makers to disassociate the war from the election campaign and to put off criticizing their colleagues until quieter days prevail.

Only now a row has plowed through the barrier of silence, and the settling of political scores has begun on the backs of IDF soldiers and residents of the south, as if there were no tomorrow. The shrill voices need to be cast aside in favor of the formulation of a responsible, sober policy, which will yield a cease-fire as soon as possible.
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