Scorched Earth in the South

Israel fiddles while the south burns! This is what is really happening on the southern Israel-Gaza border. Israel has no plan of action - just threats of retaliation and the sporadic attacks on Hamas positions which seems to be ineffective. Israel seems to be moving closer to a military conflict with Hamas in Gaza that according to reports “neither side wants”.

If this was not the case then Hamas would not be so involved with its ingenuity in sending young teenagers to the border launching incendiary kites with explosives to cause havoc and destruction of agricultural lands and natural habitat including wholesale slaughter of natural fauna as if they are to blame for the situation of dire straits of the Gazan Palestinians! Viewing burnt carcasses of defenceless wild animals exhibits the barbarity of Hamas in its motivation for the destruction of everything in its path. Nothing can justify this Palestinian epidemic of destruction, which in the long run will rebound on them. The Gazan youngsters are faced with a bleak future and Hamas exploits this - not to improve their situation but to entrench itself in power even more. They must be held accountable for the Gazan suffering and this has also resulted in Israel's stranglehold on Gaza's border to prevent terrorism coming into Israel.

The fantasy in the DNA of Hamas of Israel’s total destruction is as strong as ever. This mantra is the reason why there is a stalemate in any form of even initiating peace negotiations. Israel has the power to destroy Hamas and take over Gaza but it has no desire to achieve this. It would be costly in human lives on both sides. It is a case of “better the devil you do know than the devil you do not know”. Israel is satisfied giving Hamas a bashing militarily here and there in order to bring them to heel.

The last few days, it seems that the motivation of the Palestinian youngsters to send incendiary kites is decreasing. Even the Israel media is not making headline reports over it anymore.

A kite with a Molotov cocktail is flown by Palestinians on the Gaza Israeli border, April 20. (Abed Rahim Khatib/Flash90)

The damage to agricultural fields and natural habitat is enormous and rehabilitation will cost millions of shekels.

Hamas will lick its wounds for a while, re-arm under the auspices of Iran and possibly Turkey for the next round of terror and destruction and both sides will continue to bleed. The Palestinians will bleed more as Israel employs effective measures to neutralise rocket fire from Gaza and soon they will have the know-how to neutralize the incendiary kites launched into Israel. Raphael Technologies are working round the clock on a laser system to destroy these kites and they will succeed.

The solution to the problem with the Gaza Palestinians lies in their rehabilitation. Israel needs to loosen the noose over Gaza and allow the people of Gaza to work in Israel as starters. This, of course, has to be accompanied by strict security checks in the beginning.

Money from financial sources in the International Community is essential to help rebuild Gaza and improve the quality of life of the Gazan People. There must be a means to prevent the money from landing in the pockets of the Hamas leaders, who have enriched themselves because of lack of transparency as well as allowing much of the world donations being transferred to the building of tunnels for infiltration into Israel to carry out terrorist acts.

Above all, there should be an initiation of secret channels of negotiations between Israel and Hamas through a third party. In order to get there, there must be mutual agreement to negotiate either directly or indirectly. Unfortunately, both sides have no desire to end the conflict and this is the crux of the problem.