Halutz: Hamas may soften stance
Chief of staff says PA government established by Hamas does not necessarily point to another wave of terror
Chief of Staff Dan Halutz said Friday during a conference at Bar-Ilan University that the establishment of a Hamas government in the Palestinian Authority does not necessarily point to another wave of terror, as the organization may attempt to prove to the international community that its terrorist image is unfounded.
“They (Hamas) will have obligations toward the public – be they educational or economical – and this may cause them to change their ways,” he said.
“In some ways a Hamas government clarifies things; there’s black and white, no grey, because their ideology is known and therefore they will stick to this ideology and the policy that derives from it. They present themselves as an enemy of Israel. If they will want to change their stance – they will have to change their outlook and compromise.”
'We'll find solution to Qassams'
When asked why the IDF is not putting an end to Qassam rocket fire from Gaza, Halutz said, “Eventually we will find a solution to Qassam rockets. I hope we will be successful in reducing this threat to a minimum without crossing lines. For instance, I will not recommend we shoot civilians in Gaza.
“Some will say ‘let’s retake Gaza,’ because this is one way to fight the threat. But I always remind people that we were in Gaza up until eight months ago, and even then we were unable to find an answer to every Qassam because we conduct ourselves like an enlightened nation and we are not quick to cross lines during military activity. In the past few months hundreds of Qassams were fired at Israel, 70 terrorists were killed and not one soldier or Israeli citizen was killed.”
Halutz also said there was a rise in terror alerts and in the number of thwarted terror attacks; Islamic Jihad is behind most of the current terror activity, he said.
IDF will prepare for further pullouts if asked to do so
When asked whether the IDF is prepared to carry out Acting Prime Minister Ehud Olmert’s planned West Bank pullout, Halutz said, “the army does not have any organized plans, but I assume that if this will be the policy and we will receive instructions, we will prepare accordingly.”
As to the tension between the religious-Zionist public and the IDF following last summer’s Gaza disengagement, the chief of staff said he was concerned that “extremist minorities” are calling for religious-Zionist youths to separate themselves from the army.”
Referring to the Iranian threat, Halutz said “the Iranian president’s statements should not be taken lightly; we must prepare accordingly.”
