JUST A POSSIBILITY IF THE SITUATION DEMANDS IT!
May 16, 2006
http://www.tribulationperiod.com/
The article which follows from the World Tribune.com is just a possibility that will be held in reserve, and only be carried out if the rockets launched from the Hamas controlled Gaza Strip become a real problem. I have indicated in previous Blogs it will happen if the missiles begin to find industrial targets and a death toll begins to build up.
I am sure this is an issue that President Bush and the Israeli leadership have discussed for several years.
It is unfortunate, but the only thing the terrorist groups respect is force, and that is what Israel may be forced to apply to the Gaza Strip terrorists by a direct invasion.
Begin World Tribune.com Article
Israel to Propose Invasion of “Hamastan” in Bush Meeting
SPECIAL TO WORLD TRIBUNE.COM
May 11, 2006
TEL AVIV — Prime Minister Ehud Olmert plans to present President George Bush with a military proposal that calls for the Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip.
Over the last few weeks, the military and Defense Ministry have presented Olmert with several plans to invade the Gaza Strip, Middle East Newsline reported. They include the creation of a 50-square kilometer zone that would keep Palestinian gunners out of the range of strategic facilities south of Ashkelon. “The most burning and critical problem is ‘Hamastan’ in the Gaza Strip,” Amos Gilad, the director of the Defense Ministry’s political-military division, said.
Gilad was referring to the Israeli assessment that Hamas has established in
the Gaza Strip what officials term an Islamic terrorist regime similar to that of Afghanistan in
the 1990s. Officials said such a Palestinian entity would endanger the interests of the United States as well as such regional allies as Egypt, Jordan and Saudi Arabia.
So far, however, Olmert, supported by Chief of Staff Lt.
Gen. Dan Halutz, has opposed any ground operation in the Gaza Strip.
Officials said Olmert and Halutz have warned that international support for Israel would plummet and that the United States would demonstrate greater empathy for a Hamas-dominated Palestinian Authority.
Officials said the military’s General Staff has been drafting Israeli contingencies to Palestinian missile fire from the Gaza Strip for discussion in the United States over the next two weeks. They said the proposals would be presented during the visit by Olmert to Washington in late May, where he was scheduled to meet Bush and senior administration officials.
Officials said Olmert has been pressed by the military to refrain from detailed discussion of his plan for a unilateral withdrawal from the West Bank. They said the military argued that focusing on additional withdrawal, particularly for the near term, would signal to the United States that the Gaza Strip constitutes an irritant rather than a threat to Israel. Olmert was scheduled to arrive in the United States on May 21 and meet Bush on May 23.
“The military and Defense Ministry have urged Olmert to make this [Gaza invasion] the most important topic of his meetings with Bush, just below that of Iran,” an official said.
Senior comm anders have warned that Israel could not wait while the Palestinians exp
and their missile capabilities and directly threaten Ashkelon. Maj. Gen. Yoav Gallant, chief of the military’s Southern Command, said the military and Israel were paying an “unbelievable” price for the daily missile strikes on southern Israel.
Galant said he has obtained the approval of the General Staff as well as outgoing Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz for a major attack on the Gaza Strip.
On May 7, Mofaz was replaced by Amir Peretz as defense minister. Peretz has not openly discussed Israeli options to Palestinian missile fire, but urged the renewal of diplomatic talks with PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas.
“A number of alternatives are being discussed, including the reoccupation of Gaza to halt the launching of missiles,” Gallant said.
In a radio interview, Galant said Southern Command has trained forces for a ground invasion of the Gaza Strip.
He said the continued Palestinian use of Kassam-class and Katyusha rockets and missiles could spark a widescale military operation.
“We are talking about a more severe military action,” Gallant said. “The price that we are paying because of the escalating Palestinian attacks is unbelievable.”
Officials said the Palestinians have continually improved their missile capability.
They said Islamic Jihad and Hamas have obtained expertise in the production of
the BM-21 Grad rocket, with a range of 20 kilometers. So far, Jihad has fired at least two Grad rockets into Israel.
The military, officials said, has warned Olmert that Palestinian missile strikes have harmed Israel’s deterrence and would encourage Hizbullah to escalate tensions along the Lebanese border. At the same time, they said, Palestinian insurgency groups have sought to duplicate missile production and deployment in the West Bank.
At a May 9 conference on power projection, former Israel Air Force commander and Defense Ministry director-general, David Ivry, warned that Israel’s deterrence was built on national will rather than the size of its military.
He said Middle East adversaries remain impressed by the Israeli rescue of hostages in Uganda in 1976 and the airlift of Ethiopian Jews from Sudan in the early 1980s.
“Deterrence is the image of capability combined with the image of the readiness to use this capability,” Ivry said. “And this is much more important than the number of platforms.”
End World Tribune.Com Article
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