Israel Says 'No'

"On Jan. 23 Ha'aretz readers were utterly embarrassed. Just as the quality paper was printing its top headline, based on Israel's omniscient "security sources" – "New Israeli Policy in Gaza: Border Crossings Will Stay Closed" – the border crossings between Gaza and Egypt were being opened; a few hours later, they didn't exist anymore. Once again, the regional power was caught in surprise; Hamas won by breaking the siege.

A good indication for a declining empire is its inherent tendency to say "no" to reality. The Soviet Union gave the English language the interjection "nyet." Long ago, it was the Arabs who said "no" – no to negotiations, no to normalization, no to recognition, no to peace. This changed, at the latest, with the Arab Peace Initiative of 2002. Now it's Israel that has become the nyet-sayer. Get prepared to look up "lo," the Hebrew "no," in the Oxford English Dictionary......

Ehud Barak will be remembered in Israel's history as the one who introduced the abuse of innocent civilians as political cards. Barak was probably not the first Israeli warrior to abuse civilians on a tactical level, but he was the one who turned it into a central Israeli strategy. Operation Grapes of Wrath in Lebanon, in 1996, with Barak as an influential cabinet member, openly targeted civilians, turning them into refugees to make them put pressure on Beirut's government. The recent siege on Gaza follows a similar logic: put pressure on civilians to achieve political goals. (A clear war crime, it goes without saying.).....

And all this in vain, of course: the citizens of Sderot grow understandably impatient, with their protest capitalized on by political parties. The inhabitants of Gaza now broke the siege – which doesn't make Israel lift it – and the rockets keep being fired. What's the solution? The rejectionist regime can offer just more of the same. Interior Minister Meir Shitreet recently suggested to "demolish a whole neighborhood in Gaza." Other politicians and columnists do not lag in "creative" ideas. Israel is doing what it thinks it does best: sowing death and destruction. But as we now know, even in this Israel is not as good as it used to be."