MK Tzvi Hendel (National Union), a member of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, is infuriated at the appointment of Maj.-Gen. Dan Har'el as IDF Deputy Chief of Staff.



"This is a gross, ugly political appointment," Hendel said. "There is no argument between right and left that Har'el is a lousy officer, and that the only mission he accomplished successfully was the political move of uprooting Gush Katif."

Har'el is a "yes-man appointed by Defense Minister Amir Peretz in a shameful last-minute grab," Hendel continued. Peretz, who has lost his bid to remain Labor Party Chairman, has said he plans to step down as Defense Minister in the coming weeks.



Hendel, who headed the Gaza Coast Regional Council before becoming a Knesset Member, said he would demand an urgent meeting of the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee in order to "prevent this disgrace."



Har'el predicted well before the withdrawal/expulsion from Gush Katif that it would lead to rockets fired from Gaza, and even intimated that he knew the plan was based on non-security considerations.  Hendel's spokesman told Arutz-7, however, that the MK's objections to Har'el are not limited to his performance during the Disengagement.



Har'el Predicted the Rockets

Gen. Har'el was the commanding officer of the IDF Southern Region during the period leading up to and during the Disengagement - the withdrawal from Gaza and the expulsion of the nearly 9,000 Jews living there. Despite his oft-stated and accurate prediction that Gaza would be used to rain down rockets on the Negev and Ashkelon, he continued in his position and did everything he could to ensure a smooth withdrawal and uprooting.



Just a few days before the actual destruction of Gush Katif, Har'el penned this letter to the residents: "In light of government decisions and upon the order of the Prime Minister, you are required to evacuate your houses and leave the territory of the Gaza Strip before midnight following the conclusion of Tisha B'Av [the Jewish fast day commemorating various national disasters that have befallen the Jewish nation -ed.] (August 14th, 2005). At that time, the stage of 'voluntary' evacuation will end, and citizens will no longer be permitted to enter Gaza; only leaving will be permitted. From midnight onward, remaining in the Gaza Strip is illegal [for Jews]. On the 10th of Av (August 15th, 2005) security forces will arrive to evacuate you from your homes and instruct you to leave the Gaza Strip."



This, despite his prediction four months earlier, in a meeting with Negev council leaders, that after the withdrawal, terrorists were likely to try to attack the Negev with drones similar to those used by Hizbullah terrorists in Lebanon. A few week later, he was even more specific. Har'el said that the incessant weapons smuggling into Gaza and the Shomron was one indication that the barrages of Kassam rockets and mortar shells were likely not only to continue after the Israeli retreat, but would extend deeper into Israel territory and strike even more Jewish towns.



Dan Har'el, whose Disengagement mission included the destruction of Kfar Darom, was named for his uncle who was killed in the battle for Kfar Darom in 1948.



Message to Sderot

The day the IDF formally quit Gaza and locked the gates behind it, in September 2005, two Kassam rockets were fired - one at Sderot and one in the direction of Asheklon. Gen. Har'el responded by saying he sees the PA as responsible for the shooting, that the shooting was a violation of the PA's commitment to maintain security, and that the IDF would respond. In response to this and other similar army announcements, the Katif.net website issued a warning to the residents of Sderot: "If the army has already started its declarations on the first day [of the retreat], your situation is not simple. Speaking from experience, we residents of Gush Katif well know the 'responses' of the army - such as when the terrorists fired 100 mortar shells on our towns and the IDF chose to respond with quiet. This in turn led to running away and the destruction of the Gush Katif communities."



In October 2005, Har'el, on his way to being appointed IDF attache in Washington, intimated that he knew the Disengagement was not a worthy mission. "I am not sure the disengagement stemmed from security considerations," he told Ynet at the time, "although I assume they were part of the considerations that brought the move." Asked if the Disengagement was a success, he said, "This depends on the objectives whoever thought up the idea hoped to achieve."