Transportation Minister (Kadima) Shaul Mofaz, a former IDF chief of staff and defense minister on Sunday morning told Galei Tzahal (Army Radio) host Razi Barkai that the current situation is intolerable and action must be taken immediately to restore security to southern areas.

Mofaz stated that we may not permit our children to live in fear while Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyah and his colleagues walk around Gaza without fear. They too must fear for their lives he explained.

“We have been here before and we have the ability to change realities.” Mofaz explained that the “so-called ceasefire” was a mistake, reminding Barkai he was opposed from the get go. “Hamas must beg for a halt of IDF operations and then, we can restore our deterrence and restore quiet to the south”.

“Whoever sits on the 14th floor of the Defense Ministry must be accustomed to making difficult decisions” he stated in reference to Defense Minister Ehud Barak.

When asked about a major military operation possibly harming Gilad Shalit, he explained “every decision has its considerations and consequences” and the person responsible for the decision must be capable of making the choice. “We have no alternative. We must act. We may not permit ourselves to wait until children are killed and injured – until others are killed. Shalit is captive and it was a mistake to begin the ceasefire without first obtaining his release. Now it is considerably more complicated.”

“There is no difference between Barak and [ousted Defense Minister Amir] Peretz. There is a widespread consensus and Israelis support whatever it takes to halt the rocket attacks. It will not be easy but it must be done… I think and know with absolute certainty that since July 2007, when Hamas took control of Gaza, Israel needed to change her policy vis-à-vis Hamas. We must make the rule and we may not permit the terror organization dictate policy… As a result of the military action in 2004, there was quiet for a number of years and this must be the case today as well.

“…to those who say it cannot be done, it was in the past and it can be accomplished today again. I opposed artillery fire in the past and oppose it today. We must avoid collateral damage and we must differentiate between terrorists and civilians and we have the ability to do just that…Barak’s strategy is erroneous. Regarding exactly how we must accomplish this is to be left to the IDF but the residents of southern Israel cannot wait until the elections.”

(Yechiel Spira – YWN Israel)