Olmert ‘Restraining’ Israeli Military in Gaza, By Aaron Klein (WorldNetDaily)
“We should never have withdrawn in the first place,” a senior IDF officer told WND. ‘The greatest admission of the Gaza withdrawal’s failure would be for us to have to reoccupy any part of Gaza.'”
“The Katyusha we fired (in August) shows we can have every weapon we need,” said Abu Ahmed. ‘It is only a matter of a small period before Gaza is ready for war.’”
Excerpts;
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has rejected military plans for a large-scale assault in the Gaza Strip that would include reoccupation of parts of the territory the Jewish state evacuated last summer, according to senior military officials here.
The officials said according to Israeli Defense Forces assessments, the best options to stop the daily rocket fire from Gaza into nearby Jewish communities and to halt the regular smuggling of weapons from neighboring Egypt include drafted plans to retake parts of Gaza. The plans were not approved by Olmert’s security cabinet.
They said other options presented to the Israeli government for a large-scale Gaza assault focusing on dismantling the terror infrastructure inside the Gaza Strip have also been rejected by Olmert.
According to senior defense officials here, the IDF has several times outlined for Olmert and his security cabinet a major Gaza assault aimed at blocking Egypt-Gaza smuggling routes, confiscating weaponry already transferred into Gaza, halting the rocket-firing at Jewish communities and badly damaging Gaza’s terror infrastructure.
Senior IDF sources told WND the weapons confiscation operation would include a large ground invasion and sweep of southern and northern Gaza towns. They said, according to intelligence information, most weaponry is concentrated in and near Rafah, the southern border city between Gaza and Egypt.
But they suspect in the coming weeks the terror groups, anticipating an IDF onslaught, will transfer weaponry to private homes and underground storage centers in central and north Gaza.
“The only way to get to the weaponry is a large sweep of the hot zones that includes house-to-house searches,” said an IDF source.
IDF plans to stem the weapons smuggling from Egypt into Gaza include the establishment of a permanent Israeli military presence at the Gaza-Egypt border to generate real-time intelligence at the site and to serve as a launch pad for pinpoint operations to stop the smuggling.
IDF sources said plans to stop Qassam rocket-fire include the reoccupation of the northern Gaza Strip, from which most rockets have been fired, or the stepping up of targeted operations to take out rockets and rocket crews before the projectiles are launched.
The IDF is aware Palestinians have smuggled into Gaza longer-range rockets that can be fired from the central part of the territory so that if the northern Strip were occupied, rockets can still target nearby Jewish communities, military sources said.
“Occupation of the northern Gaza Strip will inhibit a lot of rocket fire, but we know we would need to retake most of the central and northern Strip to completely stop the fire,” an IDF source said.
Military sources, though, said Olmert did not approve the IDF battle plans, which were offered to him again this week while he was visiting the U.S.
“There are many thoughts on how to deal with the Qassam rocket attacks, and we should remember that this is not a war with a ‘quick fix’ solution,” Olmert said.
“I take the Qassam attacks seriously but our activities in Gaza will be carried out each time on the basis of intelligence, readiness and the ability to limit these attacks to the extent possible,” said Olmert.
IDF officials who spoke to WND before Olmert’s comments last night charged politics might be at play in the prime minister’s rejection of what they say are needed military plans.
“We should never have withdrawn in the first place,” a senior IDF officer told WND. “The greatest admission of the Gaza withdrawal’s failure would be for us to have to reoccupy any part of Gaza. I don’t think that will happen. Olmert will also have to contend with major international backlash for any such move.”
Another officer commented, “Olmert cannot afford another disaster like Lebanon. Any major ground incursion includes risk to the lives of Israeli troops. Olmert might not want to risk anything unless he can be convinced the overall plan will be absolutely successful.”
The officer said another plan presented to Olmert but not yet approved entails the creation of a large ditch along the Gaza-Egypt border that would be filled with water from the nearby Mediterranean Sea, causing any weapons-smuggling tunnels constructed along the border to collapse.
Terror leaders prepare for war in Gaza
During the past few weeks, senior terror leaders in Gaza, including militants from Abbas’ Fatah party, told WND they are planning for war against Israel.
“We are turning Gaza into south Lebanon,” said Abu Ahmed, northern Gaza leader for the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades terror group.
“We learned from Hezbollah’s victory that Israel can be defeated if we know how to hit them and if we are well prepared,” Abu Ahmed said. “We are importing rockets and the knowledge to launch them, and we are also making many plans for battle.”
Abu Abdullah, a leader of Hamas’ so-called “military wing,” told WND his group is preparing for war against Israel.
Al Aqsa’s Abu Ahmed said his group is receiving help from Hezbollah to import long-range rockets and train in guerrilla warfare tactics.
“We have warm relations with Hezbollah, which helps with some of the training programs,” Abu Ahmed said. “We don’t have anything to be ashamed of – that we are dealing with Hezbollah and that we are receiving training and information from them.”
He said Hezbollah maintains cells in the Sinai.
“The Sinai is an excellent ground for training, the exchange of information and weapons and for meetings on how to turn every piece of land into usable territory for a confrontation with Israel,” Abu Ahmed said.
The terror leader said Palestinian groups are developing war bunkers inside Gaza similar to the underground Hezbollah lairs Israel found during last month’s war in Lebanon.
During its confrontation with Hezbollah, Israel destroyed scores of complex bunkers that snaked along the Lebanese side of the Israel-Lebanon border. Military officials said they were surprised by the scale of Hezbollah bunkers, in which Israeli troops reportedly found war rooms stocked with advanced eavesdropping and surveillance equipment they noted were made by Iran.
Abu Ahmed said the most important “tool” in the “Palestinian resistance” arsenal was rockets. He said his group learned from Hezbollah that Israel can be defeated with missiles.
“We saw that with the capacity to bombard the Israeli population with hundreds of rockets every day we can change the strategic balance with Israel,” he said.
Israel has noted improvements in Qassams, including rockets carrying double engines.
Israeli security officials say a large number of Katyusha rockets have been brought into Gaza. Katyushas can travel about 12 miles and can deliver large payloads. Hezbollah fired more than 2,800 Katyusha rockets into Israel in July and August, devastating many northern towns.
In August, Islamic Jihad fired a Katyusha rocket into the Israeli Negev. It landed in an empty area. In June, the group fired a Katyusha-like rocket that traveled about nine miles.
“The Katyusha we fired (in August) shows we can have every weapon we need,” said Abu Ahmed. “It is only a matter of a small period before Gaza is ready for war.”