"Israeli" daily Haaretz published a report Friday in which it said that the "Israeli" 22-day aggression against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip on December 27 has given the Hamas resistance movement more legitimacy among the public.

The Haaretz report said that after three rockets fell Thursday in the area around the Gaza Strip, what comes on the minds that "Israel" is still far from its declared goal in "Operation Cast Lead". Discussion about the "Israeli" military operation's outcome revolves around the term "deterrence."

If "Israel" can enshrine "Cast Lead" in a long-term agreement, the war will be remembered as a success. But fears are mounting that the operation's military achievements are dissipating. If so, the "Israeli" offensive will go down in history as a less-than-successful round in a long war in the Gaza Strip.

The "Israeli" occupation forces left Gaza with the feeling that it had proven itself, after its debacle in Lebanon in 2006. But it seems that the bottom line will have to wait. "Israeli" War Minister Ehud Barak, who was quick to criticize what went wrong in Lebanon, followed outgoing Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni's lead in withdrawing from Gaza without a real agreement.

But like in Lebanon, faced with only an aerial attack or one followed by a ground operation, "Israel" chose the middle ground and acted slowly and partially. The report said, "Because in Gaza the enemy was less determined than in Lebanon, the move first appeared to be a victory. Only when the "Israeli" Military Forces left could the results of the war be seen as limited, with almost daily attacks near the fence, a continuing "drizzle" of rockets and information on renewed arms smuggling."

The "Israeli" aggression has only led to increased admiration for the Hamas group, according to opinion polls in the territories. Hamas is still waiting for another crowning achievement: if captured "Israeli" occupation soldier Gilad Shalit is released for more than 1,000 Palestinian detainees.

Diplomatic Lessons

Haaretz said that the international community will back "Israel's" military operations as long as they are short, focused, conducted from the air and do not result in major civilian casualties.

"Cast Lead" raised international hackles, because "Israel" lost few people to the rockets fired from Gaza, but its response caused widespread death and destruction. What's more, in Gaza the victims were Palestinians, who already bear the brunt of the tragedy of 1948; the world is much more sympathetic to them than to Syria and Lebanon.

The major damage "Cast Lead" did was in legitimizing Hamas as the ruler of the Gaza Strip, with increasing calls for "reconciliation talks" that will return the organization to the Palestinian leadership.

The offensive was planned to coincide with the end of the term of the "Israel"-friendly President George W. Bush, before President Barack Obama entered office. But now, instead of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton coming to talk to "Israel" about the Iranian threat, her first visit in office will focus on the problems of the Palestinians in Gaza. That might be the greatest damage of all.

An "Israeli" reservist, a gunner, said he left the war ashamed. "The 'Israeli' Military Forces used disproportionate power, in a kind of punishment operation."

Same Old In Sderot

The Color Red alert was followed Thursday by the muffled sound of a falling rocket, seemingly not too close to the center of town. Only later, settlers found out a rocket had hit a house and a few people were suffering from shock. In Sderot, it's business as usual. After two weeks in front of the cameras, Sderot is back on the margins it knows so well: failing businesses, a desperate school system. But who has the strength to talk about it?