IDF Chief of Staff Gantz
Photo: Liron Bozgelo
IDF chief: We must secure the periphery
Lt. Gen. Benny Gantz warns Hamas sees Gaza border communities as weak points, must be strengthened for future conflict.
IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Benny Gantz stressed Wednesday the need to fortify and support the communities and residents of southern Israel. "It's not only about benefits, but about strengthening these communities for the crises which I believe are still ahead."
The IDF chief warned that Hamas observed towns near the border fence to seek out weak points and potential areas of operation. "We saw last summer the great effort in a general attack on the State of Israel, but specifically on the Gaza border communities and Sderot."
Gantz and Rivlin at Sderot conference (Photo: Liron Bozgelo)
Gantz said Hamas "recognizes it as a weak point, but I look at it as our strength. This area did not stop living, creating, and manufacturing, despite all difficulties and pains. I am glad to express my great esteem for the residents of the south for their grit and determination to rebuild after the hard campaign."
The Israeli military leader also addressed the political and security changes occurring throughout the Middle East. "When you take a security and strategy outlook and take a quick tour of the near and far Mediterranean, it is hard not to notice the extent of the tremendous changes we see before our eyes."
Hinting to the dominance enjoyed by the Islamic State radical group as it has taken over regions of Syria and Iraq, Gantz added: "The borders between states are being blurred with intense violence, effectively creating ethno-sectarian entities with tribal rule where the sword rules and slowly, ever so slowly, the reality changes from a strategic point of view."
Gantz warned that the Middle East flux carries unforeseen dangers. "We are seeing that the components of threat are changing, that alongside the conventional, regular threats, the threat of terror is increasing, the threats from asymmetric conflicts and the threats of non-discriminate fire. Even as we speak, we are simultaneously facing a new battlefield in the cyber-arena – all the time, everywhere, and from anywhere."
