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Source: http://www.jpost.com/
Chief of Staff: "Only IDF Can Secure Gaza"
(Jerusalem Post) Nina Gilbert - IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Moshe Ya'alon told the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee on Tuesday: There is "no other force besides the IDF" that can prevent Gaza from being flooded with weaponry that threatens Israel. Ceding control of the Philadelphia route would result in Gaza becoming "inundated with weaponry" that would pose difficulties for Israel in the future. There is a "great quantity of weapons" that smugglers are waiting to transfer into Rafah, part of an upgrade that includes Katyushas, and anti-aircraft and anti-tank missiles. The 12-km long corridor along the Egypt-Gaza border, which is only 70-100 meters wide, is abutted by homes along about 4 km in the Rafah area. Most of the weapons reaching Sinai are financed almost entirely by Iran, in operations conducted via Palestinian groups in Damascus and Hizballah in Lebanon. Weapons are also coming from Saudi Arabia and Africa.