Tuesday, January 20, 2009

Lieberman: We Will Have an Upgraded Hezbollah in Gaza


Al-Manar

"20/01/2009 In an interview with Israeli daily Haaretz with Avigdor Lieberman, the right-wing Knesset member said that the strategic objective of the Israeli offensive in the Gaza Strip should have been the collapse of the Islamic resistance movement of Hamas. “This goal could have been reached not by capturing Gaza and Jabalya, but [simply] by taking over the crossing points and the Philadelphi route. There are enough forces in Gaza that could serve as an alternative to Hamas. When Hamas is dominant, those forces are silent. But if we had closed the Strip in a vice, we would have strangled Hamas," Lieberman said.

He added that after the cease-fire, everyone wants to know how it could be that the so-called “strongest army in the Middle East” was unable to overcome 12,000 fighters. Lieberman said that the result was similar to that of “the Second Lebanon War: damage to our deterrent capability. Instead of destroying Hamas, the operation upgraded it, turning it into an important regional player. It's only a matter of time before the government in Ramallah collapses and falls into Hamas hands. Within a year, we'll have an upgraded Hezbollah in Gaza, not a weak Hamas. That Hezbollah will have hundreds of rockets that reach central Tel Aviv. Ultimately, rockets will hit the Kirya [government complex] and Azrieli [towers]."

Asked whether he expects another conflict within the year, Lieberman said, "Without a shadow of a doubt. I think Hamas will aim for a time when it has instruments that will reach Ben-Gurion airport, the Kirya and Dimona."......."

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