Choosing a strategy: What we learn from Ben-Gurion

Avi Shilon writes in an opinion piece that the lesson from the Sinai War is that wars must end with a political settlement, contrary to Netanyahu's policy. He praises Eisenkot's declaration to eliminate Hamas within 18 months and criticizes Netanyahu's threats against Iran.

In an opinion piece on ynet, Avi Shilon argues that the central lesson from the Sinai War (Operation Kadesh) 70 years ago is that wars must end with a political settlement, contrary to the current policy of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Shilon notes that Ben-Gurion withdrew from Sinai and Gaza under international pressure, but this withdrawal brought about a relatively quiet security decade until the Six-Day War. In contrast, he says, Netanyahu refuses to advance the Trump plan to replace Hamas rule and rebuild Gaza, freezing a situation where Israel controls 60% of the Strip militarily but Hamas remains the sovereign. Shilon praises Gadi Eisenkot's declaration to eliminate Hamas rule within 18 months, whether by military force or through a political settlement, and sees it as a glimmer of hope. He criticizes Netanyahu's threats of a military operation in Iran as pointless and calls for a change in political strategy in the elections.