Operation Guardian of the Walls: Tactical Victory, Strategic Defeat

Dr. Doron Matza
May 25, 2021
Paper No. 2048

Israel ended the war in Gaza with impressive tactical achievements but in a position of great strategic inferiority. The outcome recalls America’s quantitative achievements in the Vietnam War alongside its strategic defeat in that conflict.

Did the Gaza Operation Achieve Its Political Goal?

Dr. Hanan Shai
May 24, 2021
Paper No. 2046

Operation Guardian of the Walls was supposed to achieve the political goal of “restoring quiet and security to Israel.” Despite the IDF’s spectacular exploits and extensive destruction of targets, it appears that control over the length of the quiet and the quality of Israel’s security will remain in Hamas’s hands, just as it was before the operation.

The Systemic Failure of Israeli Public Diplomacy

Israel has not yet internalized the full value of either dynamic public diplomacy or sophisticated psychological warfare. Because revitalization of the country’s public diplomacy bodies is highly unlikely in a system in which those bodies are dispersed among multiple ministerial and security frameworks, the public diplomacy system should be privatized.

Hamas’s Relentless Jihad

While many in the West were quick to condemn Israel for its response to Hamas’s attacks on its population centers, they must face up to the fact that there is no difference between the Islamist terror organization’s commitment to Israel’s destruction and its plans for the West. As its long-time leader Khaled Mash’al warned the Western nations amidst the world crisis over the satirical depictions of Muhammad in a Danish newspaper: “By Allah, you will be defeated... Tomorrow we will lead the world, Allah willing.”

Who Is Muhammad Reza Fallahzadeh?

Iran’s newly appointed Deputy Commander-in- Chief of the Quds Force, Muhammad Reza Fallahzadeh, is not only an experienced military man but also a politician with diplomatic experience. He is a vital asset for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, which wants to see its own man elected president in the June elections.

The Gaza War Ended, the Hamas Problem Remains

Israel's relations with Hamas in the coming months will be tested first and foremost by the strengthening of its sovereignty in Jerusalem. This makes the risk of a renewed conflagration extremely high.

Israel’s Top Priority: Immediate Confiscation of Illegal Weapons amongst Israeli Arabs

The foremost and most immediate task confronting Israel after the Gaza war is the confiscation of the tens of thousands of illegal weapons held by the country’s Arab citizens, especially criminal gangs, lest they be used in a nationalist/Islamist insurrection.

“Hamas Achieved Nothing but Ruining Gaza”

Yaakov Lappin
May 20, 2021
Paper No. 2040

Though firing over 3,500 rockets and missiles at Israeli cities, towns, and villages, more than it did during the 51-day conflict in 2014, Hamas’ military infrastructure has suffered massive damage that will set back the terrorist organization a number of years, according to Israeli estimates.

Russia Pressures Ukraine, to Little Avail

Emil Avdaliani
May 20, 2021
Paper No. 2039

What Moscow is after with its renewed military pressure on Kyiv is unclear, but the long-term ramifications are discernible. With each passing year, it becomes more and more costly for Russia to undermine Ukraine’s efforts to build more effective military forces and a stronger economy.

Turks May Be Rediscovering the Merits of the Secular Paradigm

Burak Bekdil
May 20, 2021
Paper No. 2038

The departure of some Turks from Erdoğan-style manifest Islamism based on visible piety instead of spiritual and moral piety probably means their departure from Erdoğan’s voter base.

Perspectives Papers