Former IDF Brig.-Gen. MK Effie Eitam says that a ceasefire now is practically an existential danger to the State of Israel.
“We must understand that this war against the Hamas terrorist regime has ramifications well beyond the immediate outcome,” Eitam told Arutz-7’s Beni Toker on Wednesday. “The entire Arab and terrorist worlds, especially Iran and the like, are watching Israel to see how it deals, yet again, with terror threats and rockets fired into its territory."
No Excuse This Time
Eitam noted that our lack of success last time, only two and a half years ago, set the stage for the war in Gaza: “Our failure last time in Lebanon is that which created the present situation… Everything taking place now in Gaza is a direct imitation of what happened in Lebanon: the way they prepared themselves on the ground, firing rockets at our cities, etc. In Lebanon, we had a few excuses, in that our army wasn’t perfectly ready, and Hizbullah had a home front behind them constantly re-supplying them and helping them – but here in Gaza this is not true: Our army is ready, there is no home front behind them, and we will have no excuse for not dealing them a total defeat.”
“If we do not now effect the total defeat of a terrorist organization to the point where they get down on their knees and beg for mercy," Eitam said, "we will face a deterrence-loss crisis much greater than that which occurred following the Second Lebanon War.”
MK Eitam defines this “total defeat of Hamas” as one in which “we deal a terrific blow to their military capabilities and to the desires of their decision-makers – if they are still around at the end; in my opinion they should not be - to resume firing rockets at us. Anything less will endanger us in the long run. Therefore, the test now is for the government leaders, not the army, which is ready and capable. If we fail, it will be a failure of the leadership. If they do half-a-job, it will have the gravest ramifications on our deterrence capability."
“Hamas can easily decide to stop firing rockets for a few days,” Eitam said, “if that is the condition for a ceasefire - and then where will we be? We will have had a small exchange of rockets between us, ending in a tie… We must not stop under any circumstances until we have achieved the objectives I stated above.”
He Who Hesitates is Lost
“The very fact that Olmert, Livni and Barak are deliberating over this question of a ceasefire," Eitam said, "proves why they must be voted out of power and not allowed to remain at the helm. It was their governments that brought us to this situation in the first place – with the Disengagement from Gaza, which allowed them to prepare for this war, and then the decision to allow Hamas to run in the Gaza elections – and I call on every responsible voter in Israel to replace this government.”
Eitam, a Knesset Member in the National Union, made a last-minute deal with the Likud last week. He is now in the 39th spot on the Likud’s list of Knesset candidates. Polls give the Likud only 30-32 seats, and Eitam is therefore not expected to make it into the Knesset.