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More Calls to Invade Gaza
by Hillel FendelThe leaders of the Movement for National Responsibility, comprising 100 former top army officers, say the only solution for the ongoing Kassam rocket attacks is for Israel to re-conquer Gaza. Col. (ret.) Moti Yogev, a former IDF Gaza Formation commander who heads the new organization, says there is no choice but to retake at least parts of Gaza. "At the very minimum," Yogev said in a statement, "Israel must take back the Philadelphi Route [between Egypt and Gaza]. This is the first critical action that must be taken in order to protect the State of Israel from all the arms and explosives that are smuggled into Gaza and threaten us. But in the end, there will be no choice but to re-conquer the entire Gaza Strip - or at least northern Gaza - in order to protect the residents of the Negev and the South." Prime Minister Olmert told the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee that he is not planning a major invasion. "We must act, and we will act, against Hamas centers in Gaza," he said, "but we will not go towards a permanent and extended stay... We must also prevent a humanitarian danger in Gaza." He said that the IDF had killed 300 Hamas terrorists in the past three months. Committee Member MK Yuval Shteinitz (Likud), a former Committee Chairman, said after the session, "The Prime Minister admitted that the fight against Hamas has failed. It doesn't matter how many terrorists we killed; they keep developing more weapons... I hope the Prime Minister will wake up and order a large-scale mission to crush the terrorist infrastructures in Gaza." Generals Favor Return to Gaza Former generals such as Yom Tov Samiah, Tzvika Fogel, and Doron Almog, and Public Security Minister Avi Dichter, have all said that Israel must send ground forces into Gaza in order to avoid another Hizbullah situation. Gen. Samiya, the former IDF Southern District Commander, said yesterday that that Israel has no choice but to turn back the clock and re-take control of the 12-kilometer-long and 100-meter-wide Philadelphi Route. "Even the Oslo Accords stipulate that Israel continues to control this area," he said. "And I don't mean that we should occupy just a 40-meter wide swathe, but 400 meters." Two more Kassam rockets were fired at southern Israel this morning. One hit the Gaza border fence near northern Gaza, and another landed in an open area south of Ashkelon - not far from a main electric power station. Among the leading members of the National Responsibility Movement are Col. (ret.) Yehoar Gaza, Col. (ret.) Moshe Hager, and some 100 others. Yogev accused the country's leaders of "not taking care of the residents' security and not providing a solution for the increasing security threat. Instead, they continue to sell us false illusions. The people of Sderot told us recently that [city resident] Defense Minister Amir Peretz made sure to reinforce his home against Kassams, but left the rest of them more vulnerable than ever." An IDF force operating Sunday night on the Israeli-Egyptian border, between the Sinai and Negev north of Nitzana, arrested two infiltrators on their way into Israel. Posted by: anonymous5089 2006-10-30 |
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