War on Hamas, a waste of time?

As I watch the war versus Hamas develop and the ground invasion roll out I am thinking to myself, what is the purpose of all this? Some of the effects are quite clear, others are a bit muddied.

Clear effects are the easily tangible and observable ones. A most striking and obvious phenomenon is that everyone has an opinion. The blogosphere is rife with opinions; some angry and passionate, some muted and somber. Coverage is non-stop and the pundits offer a bouquet of insight and opinions. What is clear to me at least, is that this particular war that started in the hay days of 2008 is a very polarizing war. People have for the most part scurried into two major camps; First camp is of the opinion that Hamas must be wiped out at all costs, the second camp believes without equivocation that Israel is in the midst of genocide and performing atrocities every day. Naturally there are some (minority) that find themselves in the middle, sympathetic to the plight of Israel's security and the dying Palestinian civilians. Unfortunately as all things political, the truth is hard to uncover and both sides have launched campaigns to win the hearts and minds of onlookers.

While I can certainly share my sentiment on which camp I prefer to align myself with, the purpose of this post is to illustrate that both sides are wasting their time. I have already realized that weeks spent researching the historical development of Israel and understanding the legalities of the country's existence are not relevant to modern day discussion. Either people are not interested in such trivialities or the issue of the day has become something else - life.

Life to most people is precious and the idea that life is being destroyed at such alarming rates should rattle anyone, regardless of political affiliation. So, assuming you agree, the question that I pose is this.

What will the current invasion of Gaza, accomplish?

We can probably conclude that it will do some of the following:

• Severely cripple Hamas infrastructure
• Take out or destroy a good percentage of rocket launchers
• Shut down smuggling tunnels used for weapons, rockets, food, medicine, etc.
• Take out important high-ranking Hamas leadership
• Stem the flow of rocket fire
• Agitate and anger the civilian population
• Agitate and anger the Arab community
• Raise anti-semitism and anti-Israeli sentiment around the world.

We can also probably conclude that in a certain amount of time the following will occur:

• Hamas infrastructure will rebuild
• Rocket launchers will be built or shipped back into Gaza
• New tunnels will be built
• Hamas leadership will be replaced with young zealous anti-Israelis
• Rocket fire will continue AND/OR suicide bombers will enter Israel again.
• Civilian population will still be angry and resentful
• Arab community will still be angry and resentful
• Anti-semitism and anti-Israeli sentiment will remain unchanged

Consequently another war or conflict will develop and the events of today will repeat themselves ad nauseaum. Israel has a right to exist and is a sovereign nation, that much most civilized and intelligent people can agree on. Therefore this country has every right to protect itself, however is applying a band-aid on a festering and rotting wound truly the best approach? It strikes me as not, considering we have witnessed years of suicide bombers, rocket fire, air strikes and invasions with no avail. In fact Hamas taking over Gaza and displacing Mahmoud Abbas's control has been a regression, not a positive development for the region.

So while the Left and the Right spend infinite amount of time arguing about which group is committing more atrocities, I am wondering what exactly will the future hold? Observing the escalation of violence, I can conclude that it is only a matter of time until Hamas or Hezbollah acquire weapons that will fly further, hit harder and cause more damage. Israel will respond like it always does and the cycle will repeat itself. Death tolls will rise and it will make the current conflict look like a walk in the park. There will be no scapegoats and no one to blame, because everyone will lose.

What can be done?

The solution as I see it, can only be achieved in one way. Israel must completely and fully seal it's borders. No entrance of civilians can be allowed from Gaza to Israel or vice versa, one point of entry should be established for diplomatic reasons. If Egyptians can shoot Palestinians for fleeing Gaza, Israel should have every right to refuse entry.

Next, Gaza should be treated like a country. Taliban controlled Afghanistan and that was a way of life for years, Hamas can control Gaza if it wishes. If the international community wants to provide aid or assistance to Gaza, it should be allowed with no intervention from Israel.

Once sovereignty is established and borders are defined, any violations can be and should be considered acts of war. If Israel is attacked by the sovereignty of Gaza, it can respond like any modern day country would respond - with an invasion. It would have every right to attack, invade or assault Gaza just like America responded to Afghanistan's Taliban, or the Allies versus the Axis in WW2. Israel can and should have every right to remove the leadership, install it's own government, install a puppet government or do whatever it pleases. It goes without saying that the rules can be applied vice versa as well, although there have been no precedent - Israel will respect Gaza and it's sovereignty.

All UN resolutions pertaining to the matter of Israel and the Palestinians shall be ignored, for they have been completely and utterly ineffective.

This is the only way in which a long lasting peace can be achieved.