Just hours after the latest barrage of Kassam rockets towards Sderot and environs, IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi says, "It's impossible to defeat a terrorist organization without, in the end, taking control of the area... It could be that we will reach a point at which we will have to carry out the big operation in Gaza."
Later Wednesday afternoon, yet another Kassam was fired from Gaza, slamming into an open area near Netivot, south of Sderot, approximately ten kilometers from Gaza.
Speaking at the University of Tel Aviv on Wednesday, Asheknazi said, "The situation in Gaza cannot continue this way over time. All the military operations we carry out almost daily do have a cumulative effect, but we have not succeeded in knocking the Kassam capabilities to zero."
Shortly before Ashkenazi's speech, the security mini-cabinet decided yet again not to authorize a large-scale military operation against the growing terrorist infrastructures in Gaza. MK Shai Hermesh, a resident of the western Negev and a member of Prime Minister Olmert's Kadima party, complained, "The plans are all ready, but Olmert is holding them up; he does not want to authorize the plans."
The IDF carried out a minor operation in Gaza on Tuesday, killing six terrorists; similar offensives are expected to continue.
Keep Judea and Samaria!
Pouring cold water on the idea of abandoning Judea and Samaria, Chief of Staff Ashkenazi said, "The good results we see in Judea and Samaria are because of the fact that we control the area. We will not be able to win merely by artillery fire and air attacks."
The Yesha Council issued a statement welcoming the Chief of Staff's remarks, saying, "The Prime Minister would be well-advised to finally accept the army's professional opinion, and realize that withdrawing from Judea and Samaria will lead to a rocket and terrorist barrage upon Israel, the likes of which have not been seen."
Speaking elsewhere today, Ashkenazi said that Israel "is still perceived [by its enemies] as a foreign implant in this region, and the main forces that negate our existence continue to fight against us with both military and terrorist means... For this reason, the State of Israel must maintain for many years to come a strong, large, high-quality and well-equipped army, with the best officers and soldiers, in order to continue to guarantee - via deterrence or by military means, if we have to - Israel's sovereignty and existence, and the welfare of its citizens."