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Arens: What We Have Learned Since the Gaza Withdrawal(50:32)
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Arens says that what we have learned a decade after the evacuation of all Jews from Gush Katif in the Gaza Strip is that terror can’t be deterred, but must be wiped out. He bemoans the fact that in spite of promises made by the Israeli government that the pullout would bring greater security to the country and its citizens, the opposite has occurred: Thousands of rockets fired, terror tunnels dug and many civilian and IDF casualties.
He adds that the three IDF operations in Gaza “without Israel finishing the job,” and the fact that Hamas is currently preparing for further confrontations, shows that the government’s policy aimed at creating deterrence has not been effective. He also cites the violation of the civil rights of the 10,000 loyal Israeli citizens who were thrown out of their homes, built in legal Israeli communities. Ultimately, he believes, if Israel wants to quash the Hamas threat, it will have to re-enter Gaza militarily and remain there until that objective is met.