Avi Dichter: The First War in Gaza Will Be the Last War

• i24NEWS English
  STRICTLY SECURITY | Israel must mount a large-scale military operation in the Gaza Strip, one that would leave Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) groups done away for good, Chair of Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee Avi Dichter told i24NEWS. In an exclusive interview, the Likud MP and former head of Israel’s Shin Bet security agency shared his vision of a proper national security strategy for Israel. According to Dichter, Israel would have to engage in a large-scale operation in Gaza that would stretch for two or three years. The war, which according to Dichter will also be Israel’s first war in Gaza, will be its last as it would see the entirety of Hamas and the PIJ’s military infrastructure wiped out. The chair of the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee was elusive regarding the war’s timing, simply suggesting it whenever Israel has the capacity to wage such a long-scale operation.
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  Israel and Hamas have fought three wars since since the Islamist group came to power in 2007 and Israel imposed a crippling blockade on the coastal enclave. Israel’s last large-scale foray into Gaza was in mid-2014, when Operation Protective Edge saw hundreds of terrorists eliminated after the strip’s radicals launched some 250 rockets at Israeli targets. The seven-week-long operation is the longest large-scale army offensive to date in the enclave since Israel’s 2006 withdrawal from the enclave. To watch the exclusive interview with the former head of Shin Bet in full, tune in to Strictly Security with Yoav Limor on Saturday at 7 p.m. EST.

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