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Opinion
Pankaj Mishra

Israel Faces Greater Dangers Than Hamas

From sectarian passions to shifting tides of global opinion, there are threats that missiles can’t defend against. 

Airstrikes aren’t likely to deter Hamas. 

Airstrikes aren’t likely to deter Hamas. 

Photographer: Mohammed Abed/AFP/Getty Images

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Israel and Hamas have taken to open warfare yet again. The sense of déjà vu, as the militant group’s rocket attacks on Israeli territory are met by retaliatory airstrikes in Gaza, is compounded by Western politicians repeating an old formula: “Israel has the right to defend itself.”

That’s undoubtedly true. And yet it’s equally clear that Israeli actions are unlikely to deter Hamas. Nor will re-establishing military superiority over a technologically primitive enemy obscure Israel’s new and acute vulnerabilities.