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| Israeli politicians back Ahmed al-Jaabari assassination | Israeli politicians back Ahmed al-Jaabari assassination |
| (10 days later) | |
| Israeli approval for Binyamin Netanyahu's government has risen on Thursday as mainstream Jewish opinion lined up behind the decision to assassinate the Hamas military leader Ahmed al-Jaabari. | Israeli approval for Binyamin Netanyahu's government has risen on Thursday as mainstream Jewish opinion lined up behind the decision to assassinate the Hamas military leader Ahmed al-Jaabari. |
| Despite three civilian deaths in the town of Kiryat Malachi, there was broad consensus in favour of the so-called Operation Pillar of Defence. Shaul Mofaz and Shelli Yacimovich, leaders of the Kadima and the Labour party respectively, currently in opposition, voiced their support for the operation. | Despite three civilian deaths in the town of Kiryat Malachi, there was broad consensus in favour of the so-called Operation Pillar of Defence. Shaul Mofaz and Shelli Yacimovich, leaders of the Kadima and the Labour party respectively, currently in opposition, voiced their support for the operation. |
| However, there were questions from leftwing and liberal figures about the timing and purpose of the attack, amid suggestions it was a politically motivated move to shore up Netanyahu's position before parliamentary elections in January. | However, there were questions from leftwing and liberal figures about the timing and purpose of the attack, amid suggestions it was a politically motivated move to shore up Netanyahu's position before parliamentary elections in January. |
| The veteran commentator Danny Rubinstein said the government would benefit in the short term. "It is typical of these situations when things are going well at the beginning," he said. "It's good in the short term for Bibi, but things may not turn out so well." | The veteran commentator Danny Rubinstein said the government would benefit in the short term. "It is typical of these situations when things are going well at the beginning," he said. "It's good in the short term for Bibi, but things may not turn out so well." |
| David Horovitz, editor of the online Times of Israel, described the use of force as "widely regarded in Israel as both overdue and unavoidable". | David Horovitz, editor of the online Times of Israel, described the use of force as "widely regarded in Israel as both overdue and unavoidable". |
| The obvious risk is that Hamas or other groups in Gaza may succeed in hitting a densely populated area in or around Tel Aviv in the centre of the country. | The obvious risk is that Hamas or other groups in Gaza may succeed in hitting a densely populated area in or around Tel Aviv in the centre of the country. |
| Ha'aretz, Israel's liberal daily newspaper, quoted Gershon Baskin, a peace activist involved in contacts with Hamas, as saying Jaabari had received the draft of a permanent truce agreement with Israel hours before he was killed on Wednesday. | Ha'aretz, Israel's liberal daily newspaper, quoted Gershon Baskin, a peace activist involved in contacts with Hamas, as saying Jaabari had received the draft of a permanent truce agreement with Israel hours before he was killed on Wednesday. |
| Baskin said senior officials in Israel knew about his contacts with Hamas and Egyptian intelligence aimed at formulating the truce, but nevertheless approved the assassination. "I think that they have made a strategic mistake," he said, calling it an error "which will cost the lives of quite a number of innocent people on both sides". | Baskin said senior officials in Israel knew about his contacts with Hamas and Egyptian intelligence aimed at formulating the truce, but nevertheless approved the assassination. "I think that they have made a strategic mistake," he said, calling it an error "which will cost the lives of quite a number of innocent people on both sides". |
| But on the right and centre there was widespread praise for the restoration of Israel's "deterrent power", the same argument used by Netanyahu's predecessor, Ehud Olmert, when he launched Operation Cast Lead in Gaza nearly four years ago. | But on the right and centre there was widespread praise for the restoration of Israel's "deterrent power", the same argument used by Netanyahu's predecessor, Ehud Olmert, when he launched Operation Cast Lead in Gaza nearly four years ago. |
| Others complained that the Netanyahu government had been too soft on Gaza. "In the four years that the current coalition has been in power, it has taken no visible steps either to dislodge Hamas from power or, at the very least, to weaken its grip on Gaza," commented Jonathan Rosen in the Jerusalem Post. | Others complained that the Netanyahu government had been too soft on Gaza. "In the four years that the current coalition has been in power, it has taken no visible steps either to dislodge Hamas from power or, at the very least, to weaken its grip on Gaza," commented Jonathan Rosen in the Jerusalem Post. |
| Uri Avneri, the peace campaigner and former MP, said Operation Pillar of Defence should be renamed Operation Short Memory, explaining: "Netanyahu counts on people not remembering that four years ago Israel went to war in Gaza, killing 1,300 civilians in three weeks, which otherwise did not make any significant change to the situation. Netanyahu counts on people failing to remember that only yesterday the media reported on people in the communities of the south heaving a sigh of relief at the complete cessation of missiles from Gaza." | Uri Avneri, the peace campaigner and former MP, said Operation Pillar of Defence should be renamed Operation Short Memory, explaining: "Netanyahu counts on people not remembering that four years ago Israel went to war in Gaza, killing 1,300 civilians in three weeks, which otherwise did not make any significant change to the situation. Netanyahu counts on people failing to remember that only yesterday the media reported on people in the communities of the south heaving a sigh of relief at the complete cessation of missiles from Gaza." |
| Michal Vessey, who lives in a kibbutz close to the Gaza border, wrote in a personal piece in Ha'aretz: "Don't defend us like this. If you want to defend us, don't send the army into to 'win'. Start thinking in the long term, not just until the next elections. Try to negotiate until we see the white smoke. Extend a hand to Mahmoud Abbas (the PLO leader). Stop the 'targeted' killings. Look into the eyes of the civilians on the other side." | Michal Vessey, who lives in a kibbutz close to the Gaza border, wrote in a personal piece in Ha'aretz: "Don't defend us like this. If you want to defend us, don't send the army into to 'win'. Start thinking in the long term, not just until the next elections. Try to negotiate until we see the white smoke. Extend a hand to Mahmoud Abbas (the PLO leader). Stop the 'targeted' killings. Look into the eyes of the civilians on the other side." |
| Israel Hayom, the free newspaper owned by Netanyahu's billionaire American Jewish backer, Sheldon Adelson, ran several articles praising the operation. David Buskila, the mayor of Sderot, a small town near the Gaza border which has often been hit by mortar and rocket fire, wrote of his gratitude to the prime minister: "We are all filled with satisfaction and pride that the IDF and the government have taken back the reins and that they will go to war to eliminate the Gaza terror. We deserve to live in peace and tranquility." | Israel Hayom, the free newspaper owned by Netanyahu's billionaire American Jewish backer, Sheldon Adelson, ran several articles praising the operation. David Buskila, the mayor of Sderot, a small town near the Gaza border which has often been hit by mortar and rocket fire, wrote of his gratitude to the prime minister: "We are all filled with satisfaction and pride that the IDF and the government have taken back the reins and that they will go to war to eliminate the Gaza terror. We deserve to live in peace and tranquility." |
| Eitan Haber, a confidante of the late Yitzhak Rabin, architect of the ill-fated Oslo accord with the PLO, struck a familiar chord, praising the military and Shin Bet security service for their achievement in eliminating Jaabari and taking out long-range Fajr rockets, but also expressing profound pessimism about the future. | Eitan Haber, a confidante of the late Yitzhak Rabin, architect of the ill-fated Oslo accord with the PLO, struck a familiar chord, praising the military and Shin Bet security service for their achievement in eliminating Jaabari and taking out long-range Fajr rockets, but also expressing profound pessimism about the future. |
| "Wednesday's operation is just another chapter in the book of bloodshed, the beginning of which we no longer remember and the end of which we still can't see," Haber wrote in Yediot Aharonot. "It's an endless war: once in the north, once in the centre, and now – for several years – in the south. | "Wednesday's operation is just another chapter in the book of bloodshed, the beginning of which we no longer remember and the end of which we still can't see," Haber wrote in Yediot Aharonot. "It's an endless war: once in the north, once in the centre, and now – for several years – in the south. |
| "There was never, there is no and there will be no military solution for the abscess called the Gaza Strip. If we fail to find the road to a peace agreement, many more of us will still participate in Defence Pillar 2, Defence Pillar 3, and so on." | "There was never, there is no and there will be no military solution for the abscess called the Gaza Strip. If we fail to find the road to a peace agreement, many more of us will still participate in Defence Pillar 2, Defence Pillar 3, and so on." |
| The Kadima leader Mofaz, a former chief of staff and defence minister, warned against a ground operation inside Gaza. Horovitz wrote: "The wisdom of the operation's stewards ... will lie in knowing how and when to de-escalate, in recognising when all that can reasonably be achieved has been achieved." | The Kadima leader Mofaz, a former chief of staff and defence minister, warned against a ground operation inside Gaza. Horovitz wrote: "The wisdom of the operation's stewards ... will lie in knowing how and when to de-escalate, in recognising when all that can reasonably be achieved has been achieved." |
| Gush Shalom, a pro-peace group, announced it was organising protests in Tel Aviv and Haifa. | Gush Shalom, a pro-peace group, announced it was organising protests in Tel Aviv and Haifa. |
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