MORE DISCUSSION OF GAZA OPTIONS. (UPDATED) I posted about this in "Pulling the Plug on Gaza--and the Counter-Threat" and "Why Israel Has No Good Options in Gaza" Here are more opinions, military and legal, on whether there are real options and what they are: including an article on the legal aspect, which depends on whether Israel still controls Gaza and issues of the international law of war--including collective punishment.

The summaries below are from today's edition of Daily Alert.

Former Mossad Director: "Clear Iranian Fingerprints in Gaza" - Yaakov Lappin
The IDF must stop responding defensively to the daily rocket attacks terrorizing Sderot, and take up an offensive posture, former Mossad chief and Chairman of the International Institute for Counter-terrorism (ICT) Shabtai Shavit said Wednesday. "I can say with certainty that the IDF has a very wide selection of options to activate, enabling it to go from a state of defense to attack, where terrorists will be forced to hide," Shavit said.

He said "security forces have enough information to see very clear Iranian fingerprints in Gaza." In addition, "We have intelligence proof of cooperation, including funding, guidance and provision of means, all from Hizbullah.... Whatever Hizbullah does also represents the Iranians. So all these indicate Iranian fingerprints in Gaza." "The whole idea of Hizbullah was an Iranian idea aimed at setting up a body on Israel's border which threatens Israel," Shavit added. (Ynet News)

Israel Should Pull the Plug on Gaza - Neta Sela
Former IDF Chief of Staff Moshe Yaalon was asked his opinion Wednesday on whether electricity and water should be cut to Gaza in reaction to Palestinian rocket attacks. Yaalon answered: "It's unacceptable that we are supplying these things to the enemy." "The question is, how is it that we disengaged from Gaza and are still responsible for its fate?" (Ynet News)

See also Pulling the Plug on Gaza Won't Work - Moshe Arens
It has been proposed to attach a price to every Palestinian rocket launched against Israel. We will cut off water and electricity to the population of Gaza until they force the terrorists to stop launching rockets. But it won't work. Collective punishment of civilian populations did not work in World War II, and it won't work in Gaza. The international community will quickly mobilize help for the starving and the thirsty in Gaza. Water tankers will bring water to Gaza, generators will be flown in from Europe, and Israel will be asked to contribute to this humanitarian cause. It is immoral, and not worthy of Israel.

The rockets are being launched from a distance of one to three kilometers from the fence surrounding Gaza. The only way to put a stop to this is for the IDF to enter Gaza to this depth and put the rockets out of range. How long are we going to stay there after the IDF has put the rockets out of range, ask the perennial doubters. The answer is simple - as long as the children of Sderot will need protection. The writer is a former minister of defense. (Ha'aretz)

See also Is It Legal to Shut Off Water and Electricity to Gaza? - Dan Izenberg (Jerusalem Post)

See also Strike Gaza Now - Ron Ben-Yishai (Ynet News)

It could be that the Disengagement did not disengage enough. Hamas has the best of both worlds--Israel is out of the region yet is still held responsible for the welfare of the people firing missiles at her. Even if Israel could summon the gumption to ignore world opinion, there is the issue of international law. The fact that Israel allowed others to control the issue of whether Gaza and Yehudah and Shomron were 'occupied' makes Israel's problem and alleged 'responsibility' even worse.

UPDATE: Soccer Dad pointed me to a post on Daniel Pipes' weblog. Pipes refers to an article he wrote in the Jerusalem Post in 2001 on the general options that Sharon had at his disposal:

With a nod to Brig.-Gen. (res.) Effi Eitam and Haifa University's Steven Plaut, here are a few suggestions.

• Bury suicide bombers in potter's fields rather than deliver their bodies to relatives (who turn their funerals into frenzied demonstrations).
• Freeze the financial assets of Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat, the PLO, and the PA.
• Prevent PA officials (including Arafat) from returning to the PA.
• Permit no transportation of people or goods beyond basic necessities.
• Shut off utilities to the PA.

Then:

• Implement the death penalty against murderers.
• Seize weapons from the PA and make sure no new ones reach it.
• Re-occupy areas from which gunfire or mortars are shot.
• Raze the PA's illegal offices in Jerusalem, its security infrastructure, and villages from which attacks are launched.
• Capture or otherwise dispose of the PA leadership.
• Destroy the PA.
• Reach separate deals with each Palestinian town or village.

Sharon, in short, has no lack of choices. The hard part is finding the political will to act on them.

Keep in mind that earlier this week, there was an article about an option the Palestinian terrorists had:

Fatah: We Will Rocket Israel's Ashkelon Power Station
The Buraq Army unit of the Al-Aqsa Brigades, the armed wing of Fatah, warned Tuesday that if Israel deprives Gaza of electricity, the Israeli power generating station at Ashkelon will be bombarded. On Tuesday the Al-Mujahideen Brigades, another unit of the Al-Aqsa Brigades, claimed responsibility for launching a rocket at the Israeli town of Sderot. (Maan News-PA)

Pipes also links to Blog Central where the question of cutting off water, electricity, and gasoline is asked of Elliot Jager, Isi Leibler, Jonathan Rosenblum, MJ Rosenberg, Michael Freund, Barbara Sofer, Stewart Weiss, and Daniel Pipes himself.

Opinions range both pro and con--one calling the idea 'barbaric' and revolting as we approach the Yamim Noraim. While world opinion is considered, no one addresses the issue of international law.

Lots to read and consider.

Technorati Tag: Israel and Gaza.