‘The time for restraint has ended’

Benny Toker, 26/03/19 22:29

Maj. Gen. (Res.) Uzi Dayan, the former deputy chief of staff and now one of the Likud party’s candidates for the Knesset, said that the leaders of the Blue and White party are the last ones who should be criticizing the government’s response to the rocket fire from Gaza.

“There have been arguments in the past about whether to overthrow the Hamas government or not. [Former Defense Minister Moshe] Ya’alon said that we should not do it but fight and not topple it because it would strengthen the PA. Our competitors, the party of the former chiefs of staff say that we should have responded, but exactly where will you all? After all, you were in these places and did not say this and did not present plans to overthrow Hamas, but you were always preaching caution and said ‘the political echelon should tell us what to do,'” Dayan told Arutz Sheva.

Dayan is convinced that Israeli citizens know who can be relied on in such complex situations, “It’s easy to say, ‘Now you need to do this and you need another,’ the question is who you trust in the current situation.” There is one party – that of the chiefs of staff – and there is our party, which is the people’s party. In the end the people will have their say.”

“Hamas is trying to interfere in the elections, but the leadership of the Jewish State will be chosen by our people. They will have to decide who is more reliant in such a situation which is a complex situation with security and social security implications. The question of who you trust, which leadership and which prime minister you trust in such a situation, and I think the answer in this case is clear.

“Hamas is also doing this to embarrass the government, and to say ‘we are here,’ but mainly because it is a terrorist organization. Now the question is how to deal with such a challenge two weeks before elections. In my opinion, we must strike a severe blow to high-rise buildings in which the families of the Hamas leadership live. We should renew the targeted assassinations and destroy infrastructure even if it harms the general public, because they are the ones who chose Hamas to lead them.

“We have to implement an embargo, including on electricity and water. The shooting will continue even though we are on the eve of the elections, and even though the people who claim the crown will blame us. In such a situation we have to go all the way to bring down the Hamas regime, through the combination of the destruction and elimination of Hamas leadership and its expulsion outside the territory of Gaza.

“We’ve held ourselves back for far too long. The main reason for our restraint is that [such an operation] would involve casualties. Until Israeli public opinion says ‘enough,’ it is difficult for the government to embark on an operation that involves casualties. The Hamas regime can also be overthrown in a long program lasting several years. If there is no deterrence and there is a threat to our very existence, there is no alternative but to strike a very hard blow. And if Hamas continues to fire rockets, we must enter Gaza and take more severe measures,” he said.

Source: Israel National News