IDF’s colossal defeat in Gaza this week leaves Israel and Israelis with just three political and personal options:
1. Mass expulsion — ethnic cleansing of the entire Palestinian population from territories controlled by Israel. Such action may sound unreasonable or even phantasmic, but it is actually consistent with Zionist ideology and has many supporters within Israel and within the current Israeli cabinet. Moreover, oppression and brutality are embedded within Jewish political culture and even within the culture of the Jewish Left.1 Clearly Israel possesses the military capability and fire power to proceed with such a plan for Nakba II.
2. Exodus — mass emigration of Israelis who, quite reasonably, prefer to run for their lives. This option is obviously embedded within the exilic Jewish culture and completely consistent with Jewish diaspora identity. Emigration is available to most Israelis at the moment. However, it is likely that as violence in the region continues to escalate and Israel finds itself complicit in more and more war crimes and human rights abuse, Israelis may find out that their freedom to travel around the world is gradually restricted.
3. Buying time —Israel’s favourite option. And certainly Benjamin Netanyahu’s preferred policy.
While both the 1st and the 2nd options are consistent with Jewish ideology, heritage and culture, it is the 3rd option that has been chosen by Israel’s governments for decades. It entails constant devastation of Gaza by means of medium scale massacres in the hope that Palestinians will eventually surrender and accept the domination of the Jewish State.