From the Liveblog of
Friday, August 8, 2014
Former Shin Bet head urges Gaza demilitarization
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on GoogleFormer Shin Bet director Avi Dichter calls to forcibly demilitarize the entire Gaza Strip.
“Today, 69 years ago exactly, the American leadership understood that there is no other way to end the bloody war against Japan, but with one action: dropping the atomic bomb on Hiroshima,” Dichter writes on his Facebook page.
No, there was no phone call made in advance to the residents of the city warning them about the imminent catastrophe,” he continues.
“Hamas is not the Japanese army and Israel is not the United States. Nevertheless, we should learn something from the process that the United States and Japan went through during that war… Hamas in the Gaza Strip is dragging its residents to the same depths the Japanese government dragged millions of its citizens. Unlike the United States, which fought far away from home, the IDF is fighting Hamas and Jihad terrorism in Gaza, as the fighting can be seen outside the windows of Nahal Oz and Nir Am. Our soldiers are fighting for our home as members of their family watch the battle. There is no war as just as our war with Hamas in Gaza these days.
“The ceasefire must yield, aside from quiet, a demilitarization of Gaza from weapons, as was agreed upon by Palestinians in a peace agreement signed in Washington and Cairo.”
Dichter says that expecting Hamas to agree to such measures is “delusional,” and so international forces must step in and enforce the demilitarization process themselves.
“Egypt is currently the country that has the most effective leverage on Hamas in Gaza; it has a key role in promoting Israeli demands to dismantle the terror infrastructure in Gaza,” continues Dichter.
The former Shin Bet head adds that all negotiations over the Palestinians’ fate must be conducted with the Palestinian Authority, and that Israel must prepare to provide evidence of Hamas activity within civilian areas.
“This cancerous Hamas growth must be taken out, whether by an Egyptian political surgeon or by an Israeli military analyst,” he concludes.
The Times of Israel Community.