Israel has just concluded one of the most turbulent years in its history. In 2024, the nation fought a multi-front conflict, facing Hamas, Hezbollah, the Houthis, Iran, and more. But what lessons can Israel take from this challenging year?
ISRAEL’S YEAR OF BATTLES
Dr. Einat Wilf, a former Knesset member and renowned author, shared her insights with ILTV this week, identifying three key lessons from 2024:
1. Israelis Are Willing to Fight for Their Country
“The first takeaway is that the Israelis are willing to fight, to sacrifice for the State of Israel,” Wilf said.
She explained that former Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar likely underestimated Israelis’ resolve, believing their dissatisfaction with the government would prevent them from fighting back. Instead, Wilf emphasized, Israelis are not fighting for a specific government or leader but for the principle of Jewish sovereignty.
“They're fighting for the idea of Jewish sovereignty, for the ability to be masters of our own fate. They're not fighting for a particular government or person, and that's why people are willing to fight,” Wilf said. “To the extent that anyone thought that Israel is a divided society that will not be willing to sacrifice, I think that is clearly gone.”
2. Israel’s Enemies Are Devoted to Its Destruction
Wilf stressed that Israel’s enemies remain committed to its destruction.
“We are facing enemies, whether it is the Palestinians in Gaza, but more generally, Hezbollah, who...they don't want a negotiable thing. They're not looking for statehood. They're not looking to achieve something that we can discuss. They want us not to be here, certainly not as a sovereign people,” Wilf said.
3. Israel Has Fallen Short of Its Grand Goals
Wilf’s final takeaway is that Israel has failed to achieve its broader objectives for the war. She argued that Israel made a strategic error by framing the war as solely against Hamas, rather than addressing the underlying Palestinian ideology that rejects Jewish self-determination.
“We needed to make clear that the war needs to bring an end to Palestinianism,” Wilf concluded.