We want to prevent Hamas from being rearmed like Hezbollah was after the Lebanon war.
Posted on 01/05/2009 10:04:44 PM PST by SmithL
(IsraelNN.com) Israel's steamroller success in its Cast Lead counterterrorist campaign against Hamas has allowed it to begin setting out conditions for a new truce, including foreign supervision at the Egyptian border.
The Saudi Gazette published a report from Reuters that "Israel has conditioned any halt to its Gaza Strip offensive on international backing for new fortifications and monitoring on the Egyptian border to prevent Hamas from rebuilding tunnels and rearming."
The government is determined to prevent a repeat of the failed Gaza Disengagement agreement and the ceasefire that officially ended the 2006 Second Lebanon War. Hamas terrorists amassed a huge supply of weapons and explosives after allowing Egypt to ostensibly supervise the border.
A toothless United Nations resolution at the end of the Second Lebanon War has allowed Hizbullah to re-arm and stockpile three times as many missiles than it possessed before the war.
One of the main targets of Israeli Air Force bombings has been the smuggling tunnels along the nine mile Philadelphi smuggling route that straddles the border between Gaza and Egypt.
"We want to prevent Hamas from being re-armed like Hizbullah was after the Lebanon war," Reuters quoted an unnamed senior Israeli official. Government experts estimate that Hamas could rebuild its smuggler tunnel system within six months if no supervisory mechanism is in place.
Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, along with several pro-Israel United States Congress members, have complained that Egypt has turned a blind eye to Hamas smuggling since former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon allowed Cairo to take responsibility for protecting Israel from a well-armed Hamas army.
Egypt occasionally has announced that it destroyed several tunnels in an attempt to convince the international community that it is fighting terrorism, but hundreds of tunnels remained untouched until the Operation Cast Lead campaign.
Israel is seeking an international presence with heavily-armed supervisors. One Israeli official proposed to the U.S. that its Army Corps take over the job of supervising the tunnels. The response was said to be "positive."
One proposal, which Egypt might oppose, is to build an underground wall on the Egyptian side of the nine mile smuggling corridor.
We want to prevent Hamas from being rearmed like Hezbollah was after the Lebanon war.
Note to Israel, don’t stop too soon like you have done so many times before....have you learned nothing in sixty years?
“One Israeli official proposed to the U.S. that its Army Corps take over the job of supervising the tunnels. The response was said to be “positive.””
I’m as pro-israel as any good American, but WTF? Hell no to that. Who in the world gave a positive response to that crap?
This is ONLY acceptable after Hamas has been neutralized, and not a moment sooner. Once enemy command and control is destroyed, their core group of fighters is either dead or captured, and the smuggling tunnels have been sealed, then we can go to the negotiating table.
Nobody could do a better job of it than our military, but in that part of the world they would definitely be targets. I would be very, very concerned about such a mission.
Following are facts and figures released by the IDF and related to Israel’s decision to launch “Operation Cast Lead”:
9,400+ Rockets and mortars fired from Gaza since 2003.
3,200+ Rockets and mortars fired from Gaza in 2008.
6,500+ Rockets and mortars fired from Gaza since Israel withdrew from Gaza in 2005.
543+ Rockets and mortars fired during the ceasefire from June 19 to Dec. 19, 2008.
28 Deaths caused by rockets and mortars fired from Gaza into Israel since 2001.
1,000+ People in Israel injured from rockets and mortars fired from Gaza since 2001.
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Don’t stop until the mission is completed, Israel!
“While the anti-Israel protesters confuse cause and effect here in America, it seems that some Gaza residents have a clearer understanding. The New York Times reported this morning that upon finding her wounded relatives in a Gaza hospital, one woman shouted, “May God exterminate Hamas!” She seemed to have a very clear sense about who is responsible for the current violence.”
There's a faster, easier way to do that. And Israel has about 14 days to get it done.
Excellent news!
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We don t need US troops on the borderm, responsibility for monitoring it falls to Israel if Egypt refuses, even if it means Gaza loses a few hundred yards in the South. Besides, if history is a guide, the US would pull out when convenient in favor of an international force, like the one there now.
Could but wouldn't, as the mission would soon be changed. We've been in the Sinai "monitoring" the peace with Egypt, which includes stopping smuggling, for nearly 30 years, initially solely the US, later part of a multinational force. Neither the US nor any other third party will undertake the combat operations, in Egypt, necessary to stop the smuggling. It falls to either Egypt or Israel. The US could pressure Egypt, but we won't
Cue the “Aw Geez” guy. Israel, if you want something done right, do it yourself!
A few hundred yards of depth 5 miles long just creates a bunch of sitting ducks. They should dig deep and flood the border between Gaza and Egypt. Only a fool would then try to tunnel under it.
Perhaps at this point a lot of Pali’s are going to reconsider who best can serve their needs in the future. They are for socialism, free hand outs, so Hamas took care of them and bought their vote. But now they can see these goons have caused more heartache for them then Israel has for the past sixty years. Times are a changing in the ME. And Iraq continued down the path of a better democratically ran future.
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