False Equivalence
By James RobbinsDecember 30th, 2008Criticism of Israel for using excessive force in combating Hamas in Gaza fails to make several critical distinctions between the contesting parties. Hamas chose not to renew the six-month ceasefire that had created a modicum of peace (”state of calm,” officially) in the area. Hamas then resumed indiscriminate attacks on civilian targets in Israel. Israel’s response, by way of contrast, seeks to target only Hamas and its infrastructure, and any civilian casualties are unintended, unwanted, and usually the result of Hamas placing its weapons and command posts in civilian neighborhoods.
As well, the whole notion of “excessive” force is suspect. By what standard is excess to be judged? How much less force should Israel be using – and how much less effective should Israel’s attacks be? This complaint seems to be based on the principle of proportionality as it applied to justice in the conduct of war. But what does proportionality mean in this context? What sort of response is proportional to Hamas’ policy of randomly firing rockets and mortars into populated areas? Should Israel respond in kind, killing civilians purposefully and gaining no military benefit?
As for proportionality in intent, it is and has always been the official policy of Hamas that Israel must be destroyed. If Israel now seeks to destroy Hamas, as official statements have indicated, is the complaint that they may actually be able to accomplish their objective? If anything, this action against the Iranian-backed terrorist group is long overdue. And unlike Hezbollah, which Israel attacked in Lebanon in 2006, Hamas has no strategic depth in Gaza, no place to retreat to, and nowhere to hide. A replacement government of members of the Fatah faction is waiting in the wings to take Gaza off Israel’s hands should Hamas disintegrate. This is not excessive force, but exactly the right amount of force needed to achieve victory, which one suspects is the real cause of so much consternation among Israel’s critics.
December 31st, 2008 at 5:08 am
Re “the right amount of force needed to achieve victory,” the question is how one defines “victory.” One could argue that Israel has taken Hamas’s bait and walked into a trap, designed to provoke exactly the kind of response we are seeing.
Tactically, Israel will succeed in wiping out many of the current militants. In the long run, however, one wonders whether the grass-roots level support Hamas will gain as a result - not only in Palestinian areas but in the broader Middle East - will be worth it.
Like in any insurgency, the short-term, tactical gains need to be weighed against the long-term, strategic risks. As the Middle East continues to be polarized by the ongoing campaign, I suspect that Hamas’s leaders, safely in Damascus, are rubbing their hands in satisfaction.