ANALYSIS / Synching IDF and government over Gaza

Israel Defense Forces officers refrained from criticizing the executive branch Saturday over its lack of decision concerning the future of the ground operation in the Gaza Strip.

This silence was a direct lesson learned from the Second Lebanon War. Yet senior army officials could not entirely conceal their concern that the indecisiveness may cost Israel dearly.

"The army cannot go on like this forever," former National Security Council head, Maj. Gen. (Res.) Giora Eiland, said. "We need to reach a decision: Either reach a cease-fire in two to three days, or start a big military operation that will take at least two weeks. We've been beating around the bush for a week, and we need to make a decision now."

Eiland's anger and directness stems from his realization that the military and the government are out of synch. Soldiers have been in Gaza for eight days now. Given their small area of operations around Gaza City, their room for maneuvering is limited.

IDF Chief Gabi Ashkenazi is constantly pushing battalion commanders to change positions and carry out targeted attacks to prevent the troops from becoming targets. IDF troops patrolling around the Jabalya refugee camp are facing militants using tactics similar to those used by Hezbollah in southern Lebanon.

Meanwhile, reservists called up after the operation began have completed training in an army base close to Gaza and are awaiting orders, but they cannot be held on standby forever.

On the diplomatic front, the IDF was caught off guard by the UN's decision to call for a cease-fire in Gaza. Only hours before the decision was announced in New York, an army official in Israel covering international developments said the IDF still had time before diplomatic pressure curbed its scope of operations.

The UN's decision is not binding, but it indicates the beginning of the end of the operation, especially with the swearing in of U.S. president-elect Barack Obama in nine days.

Many Palestinians believe an Israeli victory is within reach, but this would require an assertive decision by Israel to topple Hamas. If the IDF were to take control of symbolic locations in the Gaza Strip, this would end Hamas' sovereignty over the coastal territory. Such real estate includes the Palestinian Presidential Palace, the Islamic University and the Sariya, a complex of buildings that Gaza's rulers have used as their headquarters over the past century. All are located in the affluent Rimal neighborhood in western Gaza city. The IDF's operations have so far focused on the city's eastern side.

In the meantime, Hamas has been doing its best to hide its losses: Official statements issued by Hamas claim that the Islamic group has not suffered any casualties. However, the Palestinian Authority and the IDF believe some 300 members of the organization's military wing have been killed. Egypt believes the figure is even higher.

But regardless of its losses, the military wing's objective remains survival and continuing the rocket fire on Israel.

Much has been told about the workings of the IDF's chief rabbi, Brigadier General Avihai Ronsky, whose frequent visits to the frontlines involve religious conversations with soldiers. One group of fighters in the Givati Brigade received his blessing before entering the Gaza Strip.

Such religious activity is not necessarily unusual, considering the high percentage of observant soldiers in combat units, but there have been many other alarming reports of rabbis handing soldiers recorded blessings in portable music players and giving soldiers Jewish prayer shawls.

The question arises as to whether anyone is supervising the rabbis' message. Although no one has sprinkled soldiers with holy water or given them keys to heaven yet, we must make sure this is not happening by the next war.