Living the Vision / Did the Gaza operation combat terror or spawn hatred?

The Israel Defense Forces' 22-day offensive on the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip stirred controversy across the world, with critics accusing Israel of war crimes and proponents defending the operation as the only solution to stopping the rocket attacks.

In this exclusive interview with Leadel.NET, an IDF general, an analyst from the Democratic Institute of Jerusalem and a bereaved mother turned activist offer their differing viewpoints on the catalysts, timing and effect of the Gaza operation.

Professor Moredechai Kemnitzer says that "the main reason was to show the Hamas that the state of Israel would not tolerate the continuous attack on our civilians," but adds that the attacks on the Gaza population may only be pushing off prospects for peace.

"When you cause this kind of suffering you cause too much hatred [and] the chances to convince the Gaza population to come to terms with Israel is being damaged by this kind of operation," he says.

General (res.) Ya'akov Amidor, however, believes that Israel has no choice buy to "to fight terrorism on the ground... The government waited as much as possible because we had in mind the question of legitimacy, he says.

Robi Damlin, who lost her son to a Palestinian sniper in 2004, says that the an operation like this, which left some 1,300 Palestinians and 13 Israelis dead, does nothing but spawn hatred.

All thats left behind for the people is really more broken hearts, and more bereaved families and also a future generations of haters," she says.

This is the fifth edition of Leadel.NET'S 'Living the Vision' series on The Jewish World.

Visit leadel.NET for more online interviews with Jewish leaders.