Winning any battle generally must include good PR. Those on the right, who generally have the better argument, often do not know how to win the public battle for their case.
Much of the very recent news has been focused on Israel’s killing of dozens of Palestinians in Rafah. Based on different reports, it would appear that Israel targeted two senior Hamas terrorists who run activities in the West Bank. Israel claims to have used smaller bombs with very precise intelligence for targeting. What happened next is not clear. The bombs hit or also hit a jeep filled with ammo which then exploded, or some shrapnel ignited a fuel tank. The end result would appear to be 45 dead, mostly Palestinian civilians.
Responses have been typical. The EU rattles its sanctions saber if Israel does not heed the International Criminal Court (ICC) demand to stop fighting in Rafah. Protests from Israeli Arabs to the Muslim street in Europe have all condemned Israel for its action in getting two important Hamas terrorists into the express lane for their 72 virgins. Even AOC had to throw in her few thoughts, which must have been some effort.
Israel did itself no favors when it announced a military investigation into the incident. Prime Minister Binyamin (Bibi) Netanyahu took the exact wrong approach when he described the event as a “tragic mistake”. The US’s response was actually less bellicose than in the past and suggested that Israel had to be more careful in the future.
All of the above shows that we live in an upside-down world, and Israel agrees to be a part of the arrangement. The proper Israeli response should have included the following points only:
*Israel undertook to eliminate two senior Hamas commanders with a long history of terror activity who were hiding among civilians in Rafah.
*Since 10/7, all deaths, injuries, and displacements on both sides of the battle are solely the responsibility of Hamas, who started the fighting with its surprise pogrom in southern Israel.
*Israel will continue to wipe out Hamas leaders and fighters until Hamas either surrenders or Gaza is fully conquered.
End of communique.
What Israel has instead done is simply to buy into its enemies’ program. Israel has to use smaller bombs because unlike the Allies in World War 2 or the Americans during the past few decades, only Israel is to be punished if in destroying a legitimate military target civilians are harmed. By announcing the opening of an investigation and using the language that Bibi employed, Israel admits to some guilt, when during the prosecution of war in a dense urban environment, there is no guilt present. Israel did not target civilians. That is provable. Hamas has not suggested that its commanders hiding among civilian tents are actually still alive and currently in Las Vegas. Israel attacked an important terror target and succeeded in removing it. What else happened is fully on Hamas’ side of the ledger—if you believe that Israel has a right to defend itself and avenge its murdered civilians.
One cannot underestimate the importance of some commanders in warfare. When the US sent a pack of P-38’s to ambush Isoroku Yamamoto’s airplane, his loss was described in Washington as the equivalent of the sinking of a Japanese aircraft carrier. He was the brightest military thinker in Japan and the planner of the attack on Pearl Harbor. The US decision to turn Iran’s General Suleimani into a jigsaw puzzle had a major impact on Iran’s proxy armies. He was the key to their funding and fighting, and getting rid of him left a big hole for a time in Iran’s operations. If the guys in Rafah were controlling terrorists in the West Bank, then Israel had every right to attack them. Europe and the college zanies should be screaming at Hamas for its cowardice in hiding key assets among civilians. But when Israel apologizes, says that it was a bad mistake and publicly announces an investigation, then Hamas and its thugs are off the hook. This is how you may win a battle but lose the wider PR war that you need to keep your allies at your side and the weapons coming in. Do not apologize for any legitimate military activity, and as a mantra, blame Hamas for any civilian casualties and property destruction. What do you think will happen the day after the war when reporters show completely destroyed neighborhoods in north and central Gaza? Program them now to understand that all loss and destruction is on Hamas’ bar tab.
If the people all hot and bothered about Gazans burned alive in their tents had been equally upset about Israelis burned alive in their cars and houses on 10/7, then I could appreciate their concern for loss of human life. But their anger only goes one way. Like the fake feminists who could not raise their voices for the raped and brutally murdered Jewesses, these frauds can only shed tears for a group that helps them gain more power. Nothing Israel can do will placate them. Israel has risked the lives of soldiers to allow in thousands of food trucks only to be accused by the ICC of starving the Palestinian population. So instead of playing along with their “Israel is always bad” game, make your own mantras and do not stray from them. At least your position will be based on the truth.
The first mantra that Israel needs to establish is that food trucks only enter on days in which at least one live hostage is released. By stating as much and holding to this position, Hamas once again becomes the bad guy: if people starve, it’s because Hamas has not agreed to Israel’s reasonable position. Do not play on their terms; make the terms in your favor and stick to them.
To paraphrase Roosevelt from the day after Pearl Harbor: “No matter how long it may take us to overcome this premeditated invasion, the Israeli people in their righteous might will win through to absolute victory...With confidence in our armed forces with the unbounding determination of our people we will gain the inevitable triumph so help us God.”