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IDF May Take over Philadelphi Corridor along Egypt-Gaza Border in Future Conflict

(Jerusalem Post) Yaakov Katz - The IDF has drawn up plans for the possibility that in a future conflict with Hamas it will be ordered by the government to take over the Philadelphi Corridor in southern Gaza, which is lined with hundreds of weapons smuggling tunnels, defense officials said on Sunday. Such an operation would be designed to prevent Hamas from rearming following the conflict. The IDF believes that since the Gaza operation ended in mid-January 2009, Hamas has significantly boosted its military capabilities and has obtained long-range rockets, mostly from Iran. In addition, Hamas is believed to have obtained advanced, mostly Russian-made anti-tank missiles and shoulder-to-air missiles. On Sunday, Maj.-Gen. (res.) Yom-Tov Samia, the former head of the IDF Southern Command, told Army Radio, "We are facing another round in Gaza....I am very skeptical about the chance that Hamas will suddenly surrender or change its way without first suffering a far more serious blow than it did during the Gaza operation." The blow, he said, would be "more focused with long-range results including the conquering of territory that Hamas will understand it lost as a result of its provocations. We need to create a situation which reduces its oxygen supply."
2010-01-11 08:19:09
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