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Israel 'ready to invade Gaza'
19/07/2007 20:12 - (SA)
Jerusalem - Israeli forces have made preparations to invade the Gaza Strip to stop a guerrilla build-up by Hamas and may only have a limited opportunity to launch such an attack, a top army commander said on Thursday.
The seizure of Gaza by Iranian-backed Hamas Islamists last month has set the Jewish state on edge, stirring fears in Israel of a big increase in attacks from the Palestinian enclave.
Security hawks want a major sweep soon but the government, bruised by last year's war with Hezbollah, seems reluctant.
"Israel has well drawn-up plans, the troops have been trained and await the go-ahead. If we opt to launch an operation, we'll know what to do," the Israeli commander was quoted as telling Israeli journalists at a briefing.
"There will also be a price to pay. The Israel Defence Forces are prepared to pay that price."
The commander said there was an opportunity to carry out such an operation now: "as the world has not yet grown accustomed to the new Hamas entity, and Hamas has not yet completed bolstering its military capabilities".
'Bloody' invasion
Reuters obtained a copy of the transcript and a military source identified the commander quoted as a senior general.
A government spokesperson said the officer's opinion was not necessarily shared by cabinet and declined further comment.
Israeli strategists believe an invasion of Gaza now might be even bloodier than some of the offensives into the territory in recent years and could result in scores of dead troops and as many as 10 times that number of Palestinian dead.
Israel withdrew from the Gaza Strip in 2005 after 38 years of occupation, though raids against militants have continued.
The general said Hamas has a "well-armed, well-trained army" in Gaza thanks to weapons smuggling and recruitment drives.
Although Hamas has scaled back rocket attacks on Israel, especially since defeating Fatah rivals in fighting last month, the Israeli commander called this a temporary lull being used by the group to expand its arsenal.
Hamas, which won Palestinian elections last year, describes itself as a victim of Fatah attempts to undermine its democratic mandate and has lobbied for understanding in the West.
Defending Gaza
Hamas rejects agreements signed by Fatah leaders recognising the Jewish state's right to exist, but offers a long-term truce.
It makes no secret of building up a force of about 20 000 men, calling this a means of defending Gaza.
Hamas also accuses Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, from Fatah, of giving a discreet green light to Israeli attacks on Gaza by dissolving a government led by the Islamists and branding them illegitimate "putschists".
Some Israeli officials believe Gaza could become a battleground in a conflict between Iran and the West.
- Reuters
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