Author Oz says Gaza op is ‘lose-lose’ for Israel

Award winning Israeli author Amos Oz spoke to German news outlet Deutsche Welle and says that the Gaza operation is a “lose-lose-situation” for Israel.

“The more Israeli casualties, the better it is for Hamas. The more Palestinian civilian casualties, the better it is for Hamas,” he says. Nonetheless, the traditionally left-wing author defends Israel’s incursions into Gaza, saying he backs a “limited military response” to rocket fire.

He poses two questions to the German audience, asking “What would you do if your neighbor across the street sits down on the balcony, puts his little boy on his lap and starts shooting machine gun fire into your nursery?” and “What would you do if your neighbor across the street digs a tunnel from his nursery to your nursery in order to blow up your home or in order to kidnap your family?”

Despite the grim situation on the ground, Oz says he still believes Israelis and Palestinians can co-exist in two neighboring states. “This is a basis not for a honeymoon,” he says, referring to the two-state solution, “but perhaps for a fair divorce just like the case of the Czech Republic and Slovakia.”