Ashkenazi: we have learned from Lebanon War

 Source: Al-Manar, 13-12-2007
The current situation in Gaza cannot continue, and ongoing Qassam attacks on the occupied territories may force the "Israeli" occupation army to launch a large-scale operation in the Strip, "Israeli" army Chief of Staff Lit.-Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi said Wednesday.
"You cannot defeat a terror organization without eventually taking control of the territory," according to Ashkenazi, "the only reason we have been successful in Judea and Samaria (West Bank)  is because we control the area." Speaking at a conference hosted by the Institute for National Security Studies at the Tel Aviv University, Ashkenazi said that while the current limited army operations in Gaza impair the capabilities of resistance organizations, they would never completely curb all attacks against "Israel". "We may very well come to a point where we will be forced to carry out a large-scale operation," he said.
His speech came several short hours after a heavy barrage of Qassam rockets hit Sderot. Earlier in the day the "Israeli" security cabinet recommended against launching a large-scale military operation in the Strip but called on the "Israeli" army to continue its limited military operations. Ashkenazi said that "Israel" must prepare for the possibility of facing numerous enemies on several fronts - including foreign armies and resistance groups - simultaneously. "The threat to the 'Israeli' home front is growing and this requires us to prepare ourselves both on the defensive and offensive levels," he stated.
The "Israeli" chief of staff also addressed the long-term ramifications of the Second Lebanon War. "The 'Israeli' army's deterrence has only grown stronger after the war," said Ashkenazi. As for "Israel's" concerns regarding its enemies from the east, Iran and Syria, Ashkenazi said the "Israeli" occupation army "must be prepared to achieve a decisive victory in any confrontation."
In a possible war with Syria, he said, the army would not combat rocket attacks on "Israel's" home front as it had during the war in Lebanon. "So long as there are rockets falling on homes in the occupied teritories - we can not win the war. We will not fight as the army has in the past. We will not only operate against the rocket launchers themselves but also create a situation where the other side's desire to launch these attacks sufferers, the price for these attacks will be steep - and the enemy will have to decide whether it can keep fighting. "In a playground like Syria, we have the capability to strike them," Ashkenazi claimed.