Regional instability growing, Ashkenazi says
New IDF chief of staff assesses nation's strategic situation in briefing to Knesset Defense and Foreign Affairs committee, says readiness must be increased
Ashkenazi, who was briefing the Knesset Defense and Foreign Affairs Committee for the first time in his tenure as Chief of Staff, said "there are a number of security challenges for us, including the Palestinian arena.
"The terror there is unending. There is a phenomenon of armament, especially among Hamas," the general explained.
As a solution, Ashkenazi suggested "isolation between the Gaza and the West Bank: We cannot let events in Gaza spill over to the West Bank."
Although he said that it was important to give the military commanders in the West Bank freedom to operate in response to intelligence information, he emphasized the importance of "allowing the Palestinian population in Gaza and West Bank to live as normally as possible and make an effort not to disturb them."
Ashkenazi described the situation in Lebanon as sensitive and unstable.
"At this point, Hizbullah is challenging the government of (Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad) Siniora in the political arena, but the reality on the ground will change soon. For example, Hizbullah needs only one more ministerial position in order to receive veto power.
"On the other hand, Hizbullah doesn’t have the freedom of movement that they had before the war. UNIFIL (United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon) is doing an okay job, especially the brigades from Western Europe, who are looking for Hizbullah armaments.
"Hizbullah is working primarily to build strategic assets and revive the capabilities is had prior to the war," he said.
Ashkenazi at Knesset's Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee (Photo: Gil Yohanan)
Regarding Iran, the chief of staff said that the regime's determination to develop nuclear weapons was "an existential threat", and added that "Iran plays a negative role in the region. It supports terror, in Lebanon, Syria and Iraq."
In order to deal with the increasing threat level, "we need to improve our readiness by implementing lessons learned in the last war, so that if the situation deteriorates, we'll be able to leave the battlefield as the clear winner."
"In order to increase readiness, we need to train more. We'll need to increase reserves call-ups," he emphasized. In light of this, Ashkenazi opposed a bill limiting potential annual service for reservists.
"My goal is to ready the military...and the test of that is in IDF results," he said. "During my tenure, there will not be a situation such as there was in the last war, when it was unclear who lost and who won," he declared.
The Defense and Foreign Affairs Committee expressed approbation for Ashkenazi's job thus far in his new position and, in particular, praised his clear and direct manner.
