IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Sha\'ul Mofaz told Channel 2 TV last night that the government decision to withdraw army forces from Ramallah was taken against the recommendations of senior military commanders, including himself. He stated outright that he opposed the troop withdrawal at this time, and that additional steps should have been taken in Ramallah in order to complete the action. The withdrawal was ordered immediately prior to the arrival of US envoy Gen. Anthony Zinni, who brought with him last week a specific request/demand for Israel to end its conquest of Ramallah.
Asked to estimate the intensity of the Oslo War, Mofaz stated, “I have been a soldier for 36 years, and I think this assault is the most serious we have seen in a long while. This is a war for our home,” he concluded. Mofaz will step down from his position, which he will have held for four years, in July, and will be replaced by Deputy Chief of Staff Maj.-Gen. Moshe Yaalon.