Whether one wishes to accept US Secretary of State John Kerry’s version of events or that of Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, it is clear that the latter is no less interested in ceasefire than the former. The prime minister is defying the will of the majority of Israelis that wish to give the green light for the IDF to advance and disarm Hamas. Bibi is repeatedly speaking of tunnels and the IDF success in locating and destroying them, while conveniently forgetting to address the continuous rocket attacks into Israel.

It appears clear to all that sooner or later the ceasefire as it is being called will occur. This will lead to bold statements of “we have accomplished our mission” and “we hit Hamas hard” by Israel followed by statements of victory and triumph by Hamas leaders for daring to bomb Tel Aviv, stopping international air traffic in Ben-Gurion Airport and surviving another round of warfare against the mighty IDF.

However the prime minister is now facing a new front, one that comes unexpectedly. Following the chain of events, which included a deadly infiltration attack and the release of videos of Hamas, residents of Gaza border communities are beginning to make noise, explaining they are unwilling to bring their families back to the kibbutzim along the border to face the Hamas tunnels and future infiltration attacks chas v’sholom.

Despite statements from senior IDF commanders claiming all of the tunnels have been detected and neutralized, it is now clear to all that no one really knows. We can only testify to the tunnels that have been detected as no one has a map indicating just how many tunnels Hamas has dug and their locations.

Leaders of border communities are demanding a reasonable plan from the IDF and the government, for they are aware that it is only a matter of time until they awaken to terrorists in their homes one day, terrorists armed with handcuffs and tranquilizing agents to take hostages back into Gaza as well as machine guns to murder those they do not wish to schlep back.

Many view the Gaza border communities as being the new security zone, drawing a parallel to the military buffer that was maintained by Israel for years in southern Lebanon. The residents are demanding answers as the threat is becoming increasingly clear and while the prime minister is willing to sign another ceasefire, it will do nothing to allay their fear or limit this new threat in any way. The former residents of Gush Katif are pained and saddened amid the realization that southern Israel is now playing the role they willingly played in Gaza, a buffer between terrorists and Israel. Now, nine years after being uprooted from their homes and evicted they realize Ariel Sharon has given birth to Hamastine, and all of Israel is paying the price.

Cabinet ministers who oppose a ceasefire explain signing any deal with Hamas is bad and literally not worth the paper it is written on. There is a long list of retired senior IDF commanders from the political left and right-wing that have been interviewed during the 22 days of warfare, each testifying that no one other than Israel can be trusted to disarm Hamas, not America and certainly not UN peacekeepers. They point out there are close to 20,000 UN peacekeepers lining the border between Israel and Lebanon, and simply stated, other than photos ops they are worthless. The situation in Gaza would be worse.

PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen) is not a likely address, for he was already ousted from Gaza by Ismail Haniyeh. Abbas is barely hanging on to control in Yehuda and Shomron, fearing a Hamas uprising in the areas he controls. Clearly he cannot assume any role of disarmament in Gaza. Egypt prefers to permit to leave the Rafiach Crossing to Sinai closed and letting Gazans choke. He is certainly not about to put his troops on the ground in Gaza.

For Mr. Netanyahu, he may best be remembered for defying the achdus that exists in Israel today. The achdus that resulted from the painful kidnapping of the kedoshim HY”D and the finding of their bodies near Halhul 18 days later. Former President Shimon Peres stated “I do not recall seeing the nation this united”. Retired Israel Navy Admiral Eliezer Meron praised the young fighting forces in the IDF today, stating they are possibly the best and most highly motivated the nation has known. This is in no small part due to the establishment of the IDF preparatory yeshivot, which began a generation ago in Yishuv Eli.

Prior to the tunnels Mr. Netanyahu succeeded in persuading southern residents to tolerate occasional rocket fire. Some say it is no worse than the generation of Israelis raised in Kiryat Shmona. They too were aware that running for cover was a part of life. However, the tunnel threat is new and the residents are absolutely unwilling to hear promises that are not backed in reality. They saw up close what can occur during the weeks of Operation Protective Edge, and they are demanding answers.

While the politicians in Jerusalem, American, the PA, Egypt, Qatar, the EU, the UN and others continues releasing statements, each vying to become the next Mideast peace maker, it is entirely possible that Hamas will dictate sequence of events by its actions in the coming days.

The Hamas video showing the fatal infiltration into S. Israel. In the video the terrorists make a point of showing the weapons are IDF issue.

(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)