JINSA Visiting Fellow Featured in the National Interest
The Iron Dome Effect
Gabriel Scheinmann
November 21, 2012
The Iron Dome Effect
Gabriel Scheinmann
November 21, 2012
A week into Operation Pillar of Defense, Israeli casualties remain miraculously low and the IDF remains firmly ensconced on the Israeli side of the Gaza border, passing the time by playing cards and the smartphone game Words with Friends. To the surprise of many, the Israeli government has yet to order its ground forces into the Hamas-controlled enclave, as it did four years ago in Operation Cast Lead and into Lebanon during the 2006 Second Lebanon War. This lack of a ground invasion is in part due to the remarkable success of Israel’s Iron Dome missile defense system.
As a result of its forbearance, Jerusalem has garnered both overwhelming domestic support and solid international backing for its response, giving Prime Minister Netanyahu and his government a flexible set of military and political options in continuing the operation. By not suffering the heavy casualties that would force any Israeli leader’s hand, Netanyahu can choose when and how to respond, maximizing Israel’s leverage over Hamas and ending the operation on Israeli terms.