(Ha'aretz) Amos Harel - Israel reiterates that Hamas' intransigence has cost it dearly. It achieved after 1,800 dead in Gaza what it could have achieved after 200 dead. Defense officials say Israel's insistence on the Egyptian channel has proved itself. The U.S. has stopped flirting with the Qatari plan, and the clash between Prime Minister Netanyahu and Secretary of State Kerry has prevented Washington from imposing an American diktat. Jerusalem has avoided an agreement that wouldn't have let the army destroy all the tunnels. Israeli officials realize that no international force is going to be stationed in Gaza to collect the rockets from Hamas storehouses, as was done with Syria's chemical weapons. But they do plan for security coordination with Egypt to prevent the resumption of weapons smuggling through the tunnels, and to take more care inspecting incoming materials that could be used to make weapons. Maj. Gen. Sami Turgeman, the head of Southern Command, said Tuesday that, in any agreement, Israel has to demand the right to deal with new tunnels, even if that means a raid inside Gaza.
2014-08-07 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive