Sunday, November 25, 2018

'Gaza problem won't go away until we destroy Hamas' terror ‎network' ‎- Gideon Allon


by Gideon Allon

"The current reality, in which Hamas and Islamic ‎Jihad decide when to provoke another round of ‎violence, is unacceptable," says Foreign Affairs and ‎Defense Committee head Avi Dichter



Knesset's Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee Chairman MK Avi ‎Dichter ‎
Photo: Oren Ben Hakoon

The cycle of escalating violence across the Israel-Gaza border ‎will not be resolved until Israel completely destroys ‎Hamas' and Islamic Jihad's ‎terrorist infrastructure in the coastal enclave, Foreign Affairs and ‎Defense Committee Chairman MK Avi Dichter (Likud) told Israel ‎Hayom over the weekend. ‎

Dichter, a former director of the Shin Bet security agency, said an ‎undertaking of this nature "is not something that can be done in a ‎week or two. It's more likely to take a year or two, maybe more, ‎but it's clear that the current reality, in which Hamas and Islamic ‎Jihad are the ones to decide when to provoke another round of ‎violence is unacceptable."‎

Dichter, who headed the Shin Bet during 2002's Operation ‎Defensive Shield – the large-scale military campaign conducted during ‎the Second Intifada to eradicate terrorist infrastructure ‎in the West Bank – noted that "if there are 40,000 terrorists in Gaza, ‎we'll have to arrest 10,000 or 20,000 and the rest will flee.‎"

‎"There's no other option, really," he continued. "We did this during [‎Operation] Defensive Shield and it doesn't look like there's any other ‎choice now. We have to eradicate their terrorist infrastructure. This ‎can be done diplomatically, if Egypt decides to take the lead, but I ‎think the chances of that are slim. It will only work if Egypt, which has tremendous leverage over Hamas, is on board."‎

Asked when he believes a Defensive Shield-like campaign ‎would ‎be ‎launched in Gaza, Dichter‎ said, "‎That's entirely up to the ‎political ‎echelon. A strategic military move of this kind follows ‎different rules than a tactical operation. It requires meticulous planning and a ‎clear decision of when to ‎pursue it and to what extent."‎


Gideon Allon

Source: http://www.israelhayom.com/2018/11/25/%e2%80%8egaza-problem-wont-go-away-until-we-destroy-hamas-terror-%e2%80%8enetwork-%e2%80%8e/

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