I’ll leave it to more informed political writers to provide a full analysis of Israel’s recent incursion into Gaza to free kidnapped soldier, Gilad Shalit (גלעד בן אביבה). What I’ll do instead is offer some scattered comments on what others have written.

Hillel Halkin, in The New York Sun (via Seth), argues that Hamas’ recent attack and kidnapping of Shalit differs significantly from terrorist attacks. Rather than the indiscriminate targeting of civilians, characteristic of Hamas in the past, this was “[a] well-planned and well-executed attack on a strictly military target that was chosen long in advance and reached through the laborious digging of an underground tunnel half-a-mile long.”

Israel should therefore say to this government: “The charade is over. While we are willing to negotiate through neutral parties a prisoner exchange involving Gilad Shalit, we are also declaring war on you. From now on we will treat you as any country treats another country it is at war with. We will close all our borders with you, cease providing you with all services, and consider any branch of your government, any of its members, and anyone on your side contributing to your military effort, legitimate war targets. We will do our very best to avoid harming civilians, and we will expect you to do the same, but anyone else, from Prime Minister Ismail Heniya down, is from now until further notice a legitimate target. And when you’re ready to sue for peace-and-quiet, let us know.”

Halkin believes “that Hamas will sue fast” but I’m not sure how his suggestion is different from Israel’s previous approach to Hamas. The IDF regularly targeted Hamas terrorist leaders and high-level officials during the Intifada. Now that the cease-fire is over, I suppose it will resume and justifiably so. Hopefully Hamas will come to its senses and realize that an all-out war would be devastating for all involved but I’m not holding my breath.

Alexandra von Maltzan, at All Things Beautiful, is skeptical of the supposed internal crisis plaguing Hamas. I’m inclined to agree. It’s just all too convenient for Hamas political leaders in Gaza to blame recent attacks on its military wing, especially since Hamas has regularly responded to terrorist attacks by claiming that Palestinians have a right to defend themselves against the “Occupation”. Let’s make something very clear. Nobody ever has a right to specifically target civilians and any apology for it is simply condoning murder. If you want to say that Israel has attacked Palestinians in the past, go right ahead; I’ll condemn that too. But in the most recent outbreak of violence, Israeli attacks have been against strategic military targets. Of course, civilians have been killed and their deaths should be mourned, but until somebody figures out how to wage war without any civilian casualties, I don’t believe a better option exists.

Juan Cole, at Informed Comment, calls “use of force here… all out of proportion” and blames last year’s withdrawal from Gaza.

The incursion was made necessary by the Sharon-Olmert unwise policy of unilateral withdrawal. Unilateral withdrawal means that no structure was put in place for security in the evacuated territories, which increasingly look like a failed state, a Somalia. The PLO and Hamas have fought hot encounters recently.

It’s convenient to blame Israel for a “failed state” in Gaza. But the recently elected Hamas government, had it renounced terrorism and agreed to work with Israel, could have been on its way to establishing a viable state. Moreover, a peace-orientated Hamas government would encourage Prime Minister Olmert’s plan to withdraw from major parts of the West Bank, rather than give the Israeli Right more reason to oppose it.

A commenter to Cole’s post adds:

True an Israely [sic] soldier was captured. It’s not kidnapping. That is war and that is the risk that a soldier takes. And the Palestinians have every right to do so. The right to resist and to inflict as much damage as possible on the occupiers is enshrined legally in all internatonal [sic] conventions.

The war that the commenter refers to was just re-ignited by the kidnapping! What did the Palestinians hope to accomplish by capturing an Israeli soldier? Israel’s policy of rescuing captured soldiers is well-known and its reaction, unfolding as we speak, could’ve been predicted. The expectation that Israel ought to refrain of military action while the Hamas-led Palestinian government continues to condone violence against Israelis is absurd. If Hamas is serious about building a stable society and Gaza and working with Israel to facilitate further withdrawls, it will do everything possible to secure of the safe return Gilad Shalit. That is the clearest way to divert further disaster. I suspect that both Hamas’ and Fatah’s response will set the tone for any future progress.