Moshe Ya'alon
Moshe Ya'alonFlash 90

Brigadier General (Res.) Amatzia ("Patzi") Chen, who was a member of Ariel Sharon's legendary 101st Unit, praised Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon's criticism of US Secretary of State John Kerry, in which Yaalon slammed Kerry for operating "based upon an unfathomable obsession and a messianic feeling."

"Yaalon said clear things; there is a theater of the absurd going on here that will lead to failure," Chen told Arutz Sheva. "The media feeds off of political positions that don't even have the minimal connection to reality."

The defense minister said that Kerry security plan "is not worth the paper it was written on. It contains neither security nor peace."

The comments quickly elicited criticism from the US as being "offensive and inappropriate," and in response Yaalon apologized on Tuesday for any offense but never denied he had said the words attributed to him, or took them back. Reportedly, the White House expects Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu to condemn the comments as well.

However, Chen comments that Ya'alon's statement was on the mark.

"It's good that things are said in the open, it's completely clear that we have no partner," remarked Chen. "They're trying to manuacture a country with a Palestinian nation - that's insanity like no other that never existed in history."

"We have to separate from the people the exile gene, stemming from our father's fathers who had to buy security from the Polish nobles," added Chen.

The general referenced the plight of Jews expelled from Gaza and northern Samaria (Shomron) during the 2005 "Disengagement" plan forced through by former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. Of the roughly 9,500 expelled Jews, around 50% were still homeless in mid 2013.

"Everyone understands that if they failed when they faced a few thousand expelled Gush Katif residents, it goes without saying that they shouldn't even dream of evacuating Judea and Samaria," argued Chen.

Chen added that while Sharon knew how to find solutions, "people in the position to find solutions find reasons not to. I accompany a large group of expelled property owners, for whom the state didn't find land according to the Expulsion law."

"I found quarry land next to the community of Kedma (near Netanya), and proposed that it be given to them to lease to one of the large international companies to produce energy, solving an existential problem for generations and saving the country hundreds of millions of shekels in compensation," added Chen.

"We sat with all the representatives of the government offices, and all of them gave explanations of 'why not'; in the state of Israel they never will say 'why yes,'" continued the reservist general. "Sharon actually had the ability to stand firm on a mission and execute it, he always sought for the 'why yes.' Unfortunately the policy of 'why not' exists today in the civilian sphere as well as the military sphere, and only after a disaster do they try to find explanations."