(Israel Hayom) Israeli National Security Advisor Meir Ben-Shabbat interviewed by Ariel Kahana - Outgoing Israeli National Security Advisor Meir Ben-Shabbat has served in the Israel Security Agency and other security positions for 37 years, spending most of his professional life dealing with Gaza. He said in an interview: "Israel's long-term goal should be a demilitarized Gaza under leadership that recognizes Israel and does not take violent action against it. This goal can be achieved in one of two ways - either through a broad-scale military operation...that would come at a heavy cost, or by gradually wearing Hamas down at every level and leading the population to realize that it's a failed, corrupt regime whose time has come to an end." "Sometimes there are chronic conditions that medicine can't heal completely, but allow you to live with them....Our security situation has to be evaluated with a long lens, by a long list of parameters - strict parameters of lives lost and disruptions to the public's daily routine." "True, there are tense periods in the western Negev [opposite Gaza]. But even there, people live their ordinary lives most days of the year, and the communities there are thriving." "Another consideration in dealing with Gaza is our priorities. Iran, of course, would be happy if we got involved in a conflict with Hamas and directed our attention to Gaza rather than at it." Asked if Israel is depending on the Americans to deal with the Iranian nuclear threat, he replied: "We aren't. Israel and the Jewish people can't accept an existential threat, and will not accept Iranian military nuclear capabilities. As for what we do about it, I'll just say that when the political echelon decides that we won't allow it, the military and intelligence echelons realize what that means."
2021-10-14 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive