TEL AVIV — Israel's chief security official said that the country
must prepare for a military operation in the Gaza Strip.
Security Service Chief Yuval Diskin told the Knesset Foreign Affairs and
Defense Committee Tuesday that the Palestinians have smuggled an enormous
amount of weapons into the Gaza Strip since last year's disengagement and
that Israel should prepare for a major military offensive.
"The situation in the Gaza Strip is like a series of red, red, red
lights," Diskin said.
Diskin told the committee that over the past year, Palestinains have
smuggled into Gaza at least 33 tons of TNT [14 tons of explosives in
October] 20,000 rifles, 3,000 guns, six million bullets, 38 Russian-made
Grad missiles with a firing rage of 22 km, 12 anti-aircraft missiles, 95
anti-missile projectiles, 410 anti-missile grenades, 20 advanced
anti-missile missiles and $70 million in cash.
Dinitz said the weapons and cash are smuggled through tunnels and
checkpoints.
"When we pass concrete information to the Egyptians, they deal with it
[the smuggling]," Diskin said. "But they don't initiate any operations. They
don't deal with any of the smuggler barons although they know their
identities."
On Tuesday, Egyptian authorities detained Palestinian Authority
parliament member Mushir Al Masri at the Rafah checkpoint after they found
$2 million in cash in his belongings. He was later released but the cash was
confiscated. Israeli sources said Al Masri had raised the funds in Saudi
Arabia.
In an earlier briefing, Knesset member Yuval Steinitz, [Likud] warned of
the rapidly escalating military build-up in the Gaza Strip.
Steinitz said that Israel must prevent Gaza turning into another south
Lebanon and launch "Operation Defensive Shield II" to recapture the
Philadelphi route which separates the Gaza Strip and Egypt.
On Wednesday, Palestinian gunners fired eight Kassam rockets into the
western Negev, killing one person in the town of Sderot. Hamas claimed
responsibility for the rocket barrage.
"There is no choice," Col. Motti Yogev [res.] said. "We must knock out
the Kassams."