In a report by the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs, Nehushtan said
Israeli control of the West Bank has prevented Palestinian missile and
rocket strikes. He contrasted this with the Gaza Strip, controlled by the
Hamas regime, Middle East Newsline reported.
"In Lebanon, well-organized shipments of weapons flow across an open
border with Syria," the report, titled "How Will the IDF Confront Regional
Threats? A Strategic Overview," said. "Gaza is open along the Egyptian
border. The West Bank is not open and the weapons don't flow in with the
same freedom."
Nehushtan, appointed in early March, said the Israeli military sought to
stop Palestinian rocket and missile assembly in the West Bank, aided by
know-how from the Internet. He said the military, with access throughout the
West Bank, contained the intelligence to foil Palestinian missile and rocket
development and production.
"Furthermore, if Israeli forces are present on the ground, then they can
stop the manufacture of locally-produced rockets and other weapons in time,"
Nehushtan said.
In his address, Nehushtan, who left his position as head of the
Planning Directorate, suggested that the Israeli military recapture the Gaza
Strip. He cited Operation Defensive Shield in 2002, in which the military
captured Palestinian cities in the West Bank.
"It took a few years, but we managed to establish a different kind of
control," Nehushtan said. "The motivation of suicide bombers in the West
Bank did not recede, but their capabilities did. Thus, ongoing activity in
the West Bank remains necessary to maintain this situation. In Gaza, as
well, the IDF will do what it is instructed to do."
