TEL Aviv _ Agencies
Israeli army Minister Avigdor Lieberman said Monday that the next round with the Hamas movement is coming, but the most important question remains "when?"
He made the remarks during his visit to the Southern Region command and the Gaza troops in the presence of Chief of Staff Gadi Ezenkot, Southern region Commander Herzi Hilin, the Gaza Division commander and the commander of the Shabak in the area.
Lieberman praised the work carried out by the soldiers at the borders of the sector in order to maintain the safety of the citizens of Israel.
"Since the beginning of the marches, 168 Hamas activists have been killed and 4358 others injured and dozens of terrorist infrastructures have been destroyed," he said.
"The question of the next round with Hamas is coming but the question is when?! I am sure we will do whatever is necessary, we are pursuing a responsible and powerful security policy, and we do not follow the views of public opinion or press headlines, we are ready for all scenarios and know what to do and how to do it. "
In the same vein, Nevin Bennett, Minister of Education and member of the mini-ministerial Council, said on Monday that agreeing to calm in return for calm with Hamas was futile and that restraint had failed.
In remarks to Army Radio, Bennett said such a consensus on the base of calm would be calm and would give Hamas greater opportunity to strengthen itself.
He stressed the need for Israel to work to disarm and control Gaza, arguing that it was the only way in which Israel could support the large-scale rehabilitation of the sector.
"We cannot continue in a state of restraint that has proven its failure and leads to escalation from time to time," he added. He noted that Israel should have immediately bombed the fire-fighter planes to deter Hamas and prevent the fires from reaching thousands of dunums.
