Saturday 19 May 2007

Pros and cons of Israel's Gaza raid

Here we go again: another Israeli excursion
Judging by previous experiences, how can Israel expect these raids to make things better? It will just make Palestinians more annoyed and spark even more terrorism. But since the matter is hardly void of opinion, here I present a list of "Pros" and "Cons" of the Israeli raid of Gaza.

Pros:

  • Helps with Israeli security*
  • Gets rid of some terrorists
  • Weakens Hamas*
  • Good for domestic politics; makes Olmert not seem soft
  • Secures Israeli military personnel
  • Increases power and leverage in future negotiations

    Cons:
  • Creates more Palestinian strife
  • Kills, injures, and destroys
  • Weakens support abroad, save the US
  • Puts semi-stable Palestine unity government in disarray
  • Creates more terrorism (see fire paradox)
  • Does not accomplish mission and objectives*
  • Cuts chances of diplomacy
  • Infringes on human rights, political sovereignty (if officials are arrested like in previous raids)
  • Palestinians support radicals more because of anguish and need for security against Israel, which appears more malevolent than ever
  • Moderate Abbas loses support of people because of above reason

    * - Questionable

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