Intelligence chief: Hamas not looking for war with Israel now - Gideon Allon

by Gideon Allon

Situation in Gaza deteriorating toward catastrophe and Israel "will be the first to feel it when things explode," Maj. Gen. Herzl ‎Halevi tells Knesset committee • But he says Hamas and Hezbollah are both uninterested in war with Israel for now.

Head of the Military Intelligence Directorate Maj. Gen. Herzi Halevi | Photo credit: Miri Tzahi

The situation in the Gaza Strip is deteriorating to the point where the Hamas-ruled coastal enclave could be facing a catastrophe, and Israel is likely to suffer the consequences, the head of the IDF's Military Intelligence Directorate, Maj. Gen. Herzl Halevi, told the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee behind closed doors on Tuesday. 

Halevi also denied reports attributing to him the view that without a diplomatic horizon with the Palestinians, the current terror wave will only intensify. 

MKs who attended the meeting said Halevi based his assessments on a report published by the United Nations titled "Gaza 2020," which, if the said [sic] that if the situation in Gaza remains unchanged, it will become unlivable by 2020. According to one MK, Halevi said, "If there won't be improvement, Israel will be the first to feel it when things explode." 

With that, the IDF's intelligence chief emphasized that at this time, Hamas does not want to reopen hostilities with Israel and is working to rein in other factions in Gaza to prevent them from firing rockets into Israel. 

Addressing the situation along the northern border, Halevi said Israel and Hezbollah alike have no interest in starting a war, but that one isolated incident is enough to potentially escalate matters.

Discussing Judea and Samaria, Halevi told the committee that cooperation with Palestinian security forces is being maintained. Asked by a committee member whether there were concerns that the Palestinian Authority could collapse, Halevi replied that such a scenario could materialize once PA President Mahmoud Abbas is no longer in power, as Hamas would then attempt to seize positions of power within the PA.

Meanwhile, Maj. Gen. Hagai Topolanski, head of the IDF's Personnel Directorate, said Tuesday at a conference of the Yad Labanim soldiers' memorial organization: "We are making every effort to prevent and mitigate the current terror wave, and now we have the tunnel threat to contend with as well. We are prepared for anything and will do everything in our power to provide an answer in the south and in the north against Hezbollah."

Gideon Allon

Source: http://www.israelhayom.com/site/newsletter_article.php?id=31967

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