Weekly Commentary: DM Katz - A Genuine Plan To Defeat Hamas Isn't Going To
Come From The IDF
Dr. Aaron Lerner 10 January 2025

Dear Defense Minister Katz,

It is reported today that you have instructed the IDF to come up with a plan
to destroy Hamas.

I am going to give you the credit that should be due to you that this is a
serious request rather than some kind of tactical move to get a piece of
paper saying that it will take a mind-boggling sum of money and manpower to
defeat Hamas.

Because, left to its own devices, that is what the IDF is going to come up
with.

And you know this yourself.

Because you are well aware that the top echelon of the IDF and for that
matter all elements of Israel's security establishment, are from the old
"diplomatic solution" school, patiently waiting for the day to come that we
will finally return to the implementation of the two-state solution with
"iron clad guarantees".

Sometimes you really can't teach an old dog new tricks.

You know full well that defeating Hamas requires cutting them off from the
oxygen provided by the aid distribution system which they have hijacked. And
that cannot be achieved by a time-bound military operation.

You also are aware that defeating Hamas requires crippling their ability to
recruit and train new fighters. And that cannot be achieved by a time-bound
military operation.

Ditto for destroying the incredibly huge and numerous underground weapons
production facilities in deep tunnels dispersed throughout the Gaza Strip.

And finally, and perhaps just as important, as someone who has been awake
for the last three decades, you are aware of the painful truth that there is
no third party on the planet, regardless of how "iron clad" the arrangements
might be, who can be relied upon to deliver the goods when it comes to
implementing a plan which truly destroys Hamas.

To be clear: that's not to say that it is impossible to prepare a genuine,
implementable, plan to defeat Hamas.

Just that the top echelon of the IDF is not the address for preparing such
a plan.

You need to put together a team of smart people with the necessary military
and other backgrounds who don't mouth the "diplomatic solution" mantra.

They are out there.

And it would be a revolutionary move which you could be proud of.

As a mover and shaker as Minister of Transportation, you catapulted our
transportation infrastructure to the 21st century.

I am confident that you have the capacity to organize and support a team
which develops a plan to defeat Hamas that, after implementation, will take
an honored place in the chapter of Tanakh which we are living today.
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IMRA - Independent Media Review and Analysis

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Arab-Israeli relations

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