Special to WorldTribune.com

TEL AVIV — For the first time, Israel’s military has expressed  support for Hamas rule of the Gaza Strip.

A leading member of the military’s General Staff said Hamas serves Israel’s interests in the Gaza Strip.

Maj. Gen. Sami Turgeman said Israel wants to maintain Hamas’ hold over the Gaza Strip, ruled by the Palestinian Authority until 2007.

“What we want is calm and security in the Gaza Strip,” Turgeman, head of Southern Command, said. “Hamas, currently the sovereign power in the territory, has the means and the know-how.”

This marked the first time that Israel’s military openly supported Hamas rule. In November 2012, Israel and Hamas fought an eight-day missile war in which Palestinian rockets fell on Tel Aviv and near Jerusalem.

In an interview on Israel television on Sept. 24, Turgeman cited the
Hamas ceasefire with Israel since the November war. The general, who
oversees military operations along the Gaza Strip, said Hamas was the only
force that could maintain the ceasefire, repeatedly broken since April 2013.

The military support for Hamas came in wake of Israel’s transfer of
construction material to the Gaza Strip. The delivery, the largest since
2007, came a year after Israel asserted that construction material sent to
the Gaza Strip was being used by Hamas to build military facilities.

But military sources said the General Staff, which approved the Turgeman
interview, has been concerned over a Hamas collapse in the Gaza Strip. They
cited an Egyptian crackdown along the Gaza border as well as support for a
new opposition movement. On Sept. 24, Egyptian Foreign Minister Nabil Fahmy
warned of a military response against Hamas.

“I see no alternative to control being exercised by Hamas,” Turgeman
said.

  Gaza Strip, In first, Jerusalem, Law and order: Israeli military comes out in support of Hamas rule in Gaza, Maj. Gen. Sami Turgeman, Southern Command