Hanegbi appears to back IDF spokesman’s comments that Hamas can’t be totally eliminated

National Security Adviser Tzachi Hanegbi seems to back comments made by the IDF spokesman last week that Hamas cannot be totally eliminated – a warning that drew a rebuke from Hanegbi’s boss, Benjamin Netanyahu.

“We can’t get rid of Hamas as an idea, there we need an alternative idea,” he says at the annual Herzliya Conference, as he reveals that a plan to replace Hamas will begin in northern Gaza in the coming days.

“This business of destroying Hamas, making Hamas disappear — it’s simply throwing sand in the eyes of the public,” IDF spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari told Channel 13 news in an interview last Wednesday. “Hamas is an idea, Hamas is a party. It’s rooted in the hearts of the people — anyone who thinks we can eliminate Hamas is wrong,” Hagari continued.

In response, Netanyahu’s office said in a statement that the security cabinet “has defined as one of the war goals the destruction of Hamas’s military and governance capabilities,” adding: “The Israel Defense Forces is of course committed to this.”