Former PM Barak warns defeating Hamas would require reconquest of Gaza

Former prime minister Ehud Barak says the only way to defeat Hamas is for Israel to re-capture the Gaza Strip, but adds “not even the extremists” in Israel want that.

In an interview with Channel 10 news, Barak also harshly criticizes Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for his handling of the uptick in violence since yesterday.

“From a technical perspective, the IDF could occupy the Gaza Strip in a matter of days,” Barak says about reports of a possible large-scale IDF offensive in the Palestinian territory. “But then we would have a different problem. It’s impossible to topple Hamas without conquering the Strip,” he says.

The former prime minister says that he has previously explored ways to remove Hamas from power in Gaza, but his proposal, which apparently included an Israeli reconquest of the Strip, was rejected by the PA and Arab states.

Barak adds that Netanyahu’s government is “not dealing with” the escalating violence in Gaza.

“The government is sending the IDF to kill mosquitoes, instead of working to dry the swamp,” he says.