COMMENTARY: Partial success of “Protective Edge” against Hamas

By Rufiz Hafizoglu - Trend:

Following the discovery of corpses of three abducted Jewish teenagers on July 12 in the West Bank of the Jordan River, the Israeli government accused the Islamic Resistance Movement, Hamas.

Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, said that new military operations would be launched in the Gaza Strip in revenge on Hamas for the killing of the teenagers.

Hamas, in turn, said it will "open the gates of hell" i.e. the military operations against Israel would start. It was expected that this mutual rhetoric would be forgotten since they are constantly threatening one another however, this did not happen.

Hamas' guilt in the death of the teenagers has not been proved, and the abduction and murder of the 17-year-old Mohammed Abu Khudeir on July 2, has strained the situation even more. Of course, the Israeli government condemned the murder of Mohammed Abu Khudeir and stated that it would take all measures to arrest those responsible.

Then on July 8, Israel announced the beginning of a military operation dubbed "Protective Edge" in the Gaza Strip. The operation has killed scores of Palestinians, and more than 500 people have been injured.

It would be naive to claim that Israel is holding this operation only to avenge the deaths of teenagers. It is safe to say that one of the main reasons for carrying out the operation against Hamas is in reaction to the ouster of the Muslim Brotherhood organization from power in Egypt.

When paying attention to the latest history, we see that these clashes are not new but a continuation of the Arab-Israeli conflict.

Everyone expected that Israel would start a large-scale ground operation in 2012, however, the operation launched on November 14 last year, did not last more than a week.

In fact, if we pay close attention to the chronology of Israel's military operations in the Gaza Strip, it can be said that the operation launched in late 2008 was more successful than the operation in 2012.

There are many reasons why Israel failed in recent military operations, despite the fact that it owns the most modern army in the region. The main reason for the failure of the Israeli operation in 2012 in the Gaza Strip was the Muslim Brotherhood being in power in Egypt.

The military operation in the Gaza Strip against Hamas which was carried out by Israel in 2012 was not without influence on the economy. The military operation in the Gaza Strip cost Israel some $380 million to Israel per day, according to the "Yedioth Ahronoth" newspaper. At the same time, it is noted that each launched missile on Gaza cost $40,000, and one hour of flight time for a drone amounted to $ 1,500.

On the other hand, the military operation called "Protective Edge" cannot be considered the last military operation, which will put an end to Hamas. Not in the least because Hamas is not only a military organization, but also a political and an ideological organization.The organization will not cease to exist with the elimination or the arrest of its leaders, at best, it can change its tactics. Otherwise, the death of the ideologue of the organization, Sheikh Ahmed Yassin and then Abdulaziz Rantisi would contribute to the weakening of the organization.

That's why it is hard to believe that military operation launched by Israel called "Protective Edge" will be successful.

Rufiz Hafizoglu is the head of Trend Arabic News Service