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No such thing as 'entirely' By Doron Rosenblum Tags: Qassam, Hamas, gaza, Israel If a solution is found for the rocket fire from the Gaza Strip, which, as usual, will be discovered in retrospect to have gone on much longer than necessary for reasons nobody can explain, the intensity and magnitude of the dilemma confronting us in early 2008 may be hard for us to understand. But it's still early for that. At the moment, a solution to the problem of Gaza and the Qassams seems so elusive, complicated and beyond reach, and so many ideas have been put forward in desperation, you'd think we were looking at a local military version of Fermat's Last Theorem. The search for that enigmatic mathematical proof went on for 350 years. Judging from the way things look now, it might not take us any less time. What haven't we proposed to stop the Qassams? There isn't an idea that hasn't been raised and flatly rejected. The suggestion that we "go nuts" and fire blindly into one of the most densely populated regions in the world has been countered by the argument that we would lose the PR war, which is more important in our day than a physical victory. The idea of occupying Gaza has been tossed out on the grounds that a country so ensitive to the loss of human life could not survive another initiated ar with an uncertain outcome liable to cost it hundreds of dead and wounded. Advertisement Bumping off the entire Hamas leadership was rejected, because it would mean losing our last opportunity to reach some kind of agreement, owing to the gang warfare that would erupt in Gaza. The idea of dialogue with Hamas has been turned down, because this would pull the rug out from under the Palestinian Authority. Exercising restraint in order to halt the spiral of violence has been vetoed, because in the long run it would be interpreted as weakness, failing to protect the citizens of Israel, and losing our grip on the very reason for being a sovereign state. Maybe the question of "what to do" wouldn't have become such a tangled mess if it weren't for the enigma at its core: Why are they shooting rockets at us in the first place, and from a territory from which we withdrew? Apart from doing it "because they can," there is no explanation for these actions that makes any sense from a conventional military or olitical point of view. It is a question that has managed to sow confusion and mix up the traditional dichotomy even between right and left, whose jingoistic claims ("occupy and annex" versus "dialogue and agreement") at least offered the comfort and convenience of habit. But some habits are hard to change. To handle Gaza and the Qassams, the state is again pulling out the blunt instruments that have failed time after time  its Pavlovian "reprisals," its pedagogic "punishment," its search for "fairness" in the global media like Diogenes and his lantern, its swings from over-reaction to yelling "Gevald!" Behind these approaches is the same old mind-set summed up in catchphrases like "all or nothing," "total security or a rolling operation," "absolute quiet or all-out war," "recognize our demands or there is no one to talk to." Only that kind of warped thinking could produce this week's government decision to order the army to "stop the rockets entirely." Hear that? "Entirely!" As if the army has ever managed to stop them partially, or done anything at all to improve the situation. Those who were expecting to read my proposal for a quick fix, if only to knock it down, are bound to be disappointed. But why not widen the search at least? Maybe the solution lies somewhere between the two poles of brutality and victimhood, where we dangle at either end with no tolerance or patience for anything in between. When Levi Eshkol was prime minister, he came up with an idea, half in jest, which provided for this kind of middle ground  preserving our strength but without losing who we are. But his "Samson the Nebbish" formula was laughed out of town. Having said all that, if there is a solution, it lies at the end of a road that is painted in many halftones, where there is no such thing as "entirely," or "zap and it's gone." It lies in a place where there may be shooting, but also attempts to talk; a place of wily tricks, of measured doses, of compromises and dangers, where muscles are sometimes flexed and sometimes relaxed. Precisely the place - exhausting, nerve-wracking, imperfect and unsung - where solutions have always been found. Bookmark to del.icio.us   From Pyongyan with Love N. Korea's leader expresses hope for stronger ties with Syria Peres in Paris Pres. tells <i>Le Figaro</i> Israel won't act alone to halt Iran nuke program.

Today Online Bradley Burston: To the Westerner who 'understands' terrorist Responses: 544 A. Issacharoff: Gazans see yeshiva attack as unusual achievement Responses: 255 U.S.: Peace talks must go on despite Jerusalem massacre Responses: 308 Yossi Sarid: Yasser Arafat is dead, but his curse lives on Responses: 74 More Headlines 21:55 Police nab 8 in connection to Jerusalem terror attack 00:08 Olmert vows deterrence will be achieved against terror groups 00:14 'His face would glow with joy,' say friends of yeshiva attack victim 19:26 ADL denounces 'shocking' UN inaction on J'lem terror attack 17:51 Cairo official: Gaza Strip conflict serves Syrian interests 18:00 Report: Peres says Israel will not act alone to halt Iran nuke program 17:52 Israel marks Int'l Women's Day with music, drama and art 11:12 Putin - Not so much pro-Jewish as free from anti-Semitism 01:01 Egyptian police shoot Sudanese man trying to enter Israel illegally 20:13 Germany's Jews opposed to proposal for medal for bravery 13:02 North Korea's leader expresses hope for stronger friendship with Syria 07:25 IDF arrests three Palestinians who threw bombs at settlement Previous Editions Select Day 07 mar 06 mar 05 mar 04 mar 03 mar 02 mar 29 feb 28 feb 27 feb 26 feb 25 feb 24 feb

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