THIS IS WAR

Ted Belman

Now nobody can ignore reality.

Disengagement from Gaza has permitted a war machine to be developed there that includes a standing army larger than Israel’s. It has unlimited funds and no need to work for a living. It is supported by the west. The disengagement from the Sinai as part of a Peace Agreement with Egypt has resulted in a power vacuum in Sinai with limited Egyptian troops and American observers. A challenge from al Qaeda and The Muslim Brotherhood backed by the army Hamas has built was never contemplated.

DEBKA Reports

Restoring the border, Western military experts have told DEBKAfile, would require the deployment of 30,000 Egyptian troops to the El Arish area and divided Rafah Gaza border, backed by air force, navy and armored units.[..]

Early Thursday, Jan. 24, American forces and equipment withdrew from the Multi-force Organization base at Al Gura northeast of al Arish when they learned from Egyptian contacts that Hamas had begun moving some of its elite units into the new stronghold. Washington and Cairo are discussing evacuating the entire base and its 400 multinational personnel, which monitors Sinai’s demilitarization under the Egypt-Israel peace treaty, for fear of Hamas and al Qaeda missile fire and shelling of the base.

Make no mistake about it. This is a calamity for US. Syria is going about its business retaking Lebanon, Iran is racing to build a nuclear bomb and now the US is skadadling out of Sinai. All this will undermine their recent Iraq success and will distance the “moderates” from them.

Mubarak is now faced with his greatest challenge ever to his regime. For that matter so is Muscharraf in Pakistan.

Only resolute action will stop this unravelling. The US and Israel must deal forcibly with this challenge. Gaza must be invaded and Hamas destroyed. Forget the collateral damage. War is war. All that matters is winning.

In an editorial titled A Farwell to Gaza, the NY Sun has recommended

Rather than forcing the Gazan Arabs to join with the West Bank Arabs into a state of “Palestine” that has never before existed and has few of the elements of a successful nation-state, why not let Gaza revert to its pre-1967 status as part of Egypt? Egypt, at least is a country with which Israel has a peace treaty and diplomatic relations, which is more than can be said for the Hamas terrorist organization that now controls Gaza.

And what happens if Egypt is incapable of controlling the Sinai and Gaza and falls to these forces.

If Israel retakes Gaza and drives out Hamas and half the population with them, they will only go to the Sinai and wreak havoc there. As we know the Sinai/Israel border is hundreds of miles long and very porous. Next expect to read about Eilat being bombarded with rockets and mortars.

The Best Solution
Egypt should cede to the Palestinians the north east corner of Sinai adjacent to Gaza for their state. Palestinians and the Palestinian refugees in other countries should then be moved into this new territory. The west should no longer condone or abet their “resistance”.

This would be in everyone’s interests. If Lebanon got rid of their refugees they would be stabilized. Syria may also want to get rid of theirs. Egypt has already lost this land so why not acknowledge it. Egypt would be protected and so would Israel.

Time to bury the threat of dividing Israel and the right of return to Israel.