(Jerusalem Post) Lt.-Gen. (ret.) Shaul Mofaz interviewed by Herb Keinon - Lt.-Gen. (ret.) Shaul Mofaz was Chief of Staff when the IDF entered the West Bank in Operation Defensive Shield on March 29, 2002, to quell the Palestinian suicide bombing campaign that had murdered 135 people in Israel that month during the Second Intifada. Mofaz said the reality now is not at all similar. "Then the terror was directed by Arafat, and most of the Palestinians - 70% to 80% - joined in the confrontation and supported it." Today, the terrorism is not being directed by the PA leadership, nor does it have the same level of popular participation and support. "Imagine 45,000 soldiers, half of them reservists, going into all the refugee camps, 15 in all, all eight of the cities, all of the tunnels, going into the casbahs and going house to house to take out weapons." That operation fundamentally changed the country's security reality. "That the IDF today operates freely in the area is thanks to Defensive Shield." The Second Intifada, Mofaz said, also changed public opinion in Israel, with a large part of Israelis no longer believing that it was possible to trust Arafat or the PA. Mofaz said he did not see the support of 70-80% of the Palestinian population for an armed confrontation with Israel today. "Something happened to Palestinian society as well. Palestinian society, and a good part of our enemies, understand that they won't get achievements through violence and terror. Many of the Palestinian leaders during that period will tell you today that it was a mistake to strike out against Israel with suicide bombers and guns to kill Israelis to achieve diplomatic aims...because while Israelis were obviously hurt, those who paid a higher price were the Palestinians."
2022-04-21 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive