Israeli troops trained for Gaza occupation

JERUSALEM – Eight months after the Jewish state evacuated its forces and communities from the Gaza Strip, Israeli troops the past few weeks quietly have been trained for a large-scale incursion and occupation of Gaza in the event it is called for, WND has learned.

Critics of the Gaza evacuation long had warned the retreat would prompt an onslaught of terrorism requiring the Israeli Defense Forces to re-enter the territory.

While military leaders have said the IDF could occupy Gaza if the new Hamas-led Palestinian government does not halt the almost daily rocket fire coming from the area, top members of Prime Minster Ehud Olmert's office call the incursion option unlikely, claiming Israel is "scoring points" for its restraint.

In an interview yesterday with Israel's Maariv daily, IDF Southern Command Maj.-Gen. Yoav Galant, who leads the unit responsible for the Gaza area, said the army could employ "more aggressive military activity."

"If the price we have to pay becomes unreasonable as a result of increased [Palestinian] attacks, then we shall have to take all steps, including occupying the Gaza Strip," he said.

Galant said the IDF could enforce a full or partial Gaza occupation and stated his plans had been approved by senior officials, including Israeli Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz.

"I wouldn't want to reach that situation, but if it's forced upon us, then we have a plan to occupy the Strip," Galant warned. "We are in advanced stages of preparing forces for readiness. There is a practical plan and there are forces which are designated for specific operations and are training for them."

Since Israel withdrew from Gaza in August, Jewish communities near the territory have come under repeated fire by Palestinian rockets. Three Qassam rockets yesterday hit near Ashkelon, site of the country's major power supply and several important oil pipelines. An average of 10 rockets per week have been fired by Palestinian groups for at least the last three months.

Israel has retaliated with artillery fire against rocket launch sites and targeted aerial strikes against suspected rocket factories, but the current retaliation policy has failed to stop or even slow the number of rockets being launched from Gaza.

A senior IDF official told WND, "The only way Israel can stop the rockets is by occupying Gaza. It is elementary. The leadership knows it."

The official said the IDF in recent weeks has completed training ground forces to enter Gaza. The soldiers have been told to be prepared within one week from receiving an order for a large-scale operation or within several hours to three days for a smaller operation.

As WND reported earlier this month, Israeli troops briefly entered Gaza for the first time since the August withdrawal. A small force inside an armored tank crossed a dividing fence in the central part of the Gaza Strip near an Israeli military base to sweep for possible bombs after the army received information terrorists may have planted explosives in the area.

An IDF spokeswoman at the time said the small Gaza incursion was isolated and was based on specific information. She said Israel briefly would reenter Gaza again if it had information regarding an immediate pending attack against the border area.

But government sources say Olmert would not approve the occupation of Gaza while he is trying to push through an Israeli withdrawal from most of the West Bank, which is within rocket firing range of Jerusalem, Tel Aviv and the country's international airport. The sources said said a Gaza operation would label Israel's evacuation last summer as a failure, and that could damage the prospects for the planned West Bank withdrawal.

The sources also said Olmert feels Israel is "making headway" with the international community for restraint following a suicide bombing earlier this week in Tel Aviv that killed nine and injured more than 60. It was the largest suicide bombing in Israel since 2003 and the first such attack since Hamas officially took over the Palestinian Authority. The attacks occurred several hours before Israel's new parliament was due to be inducted.

For many, the reports of troops being prepared for a possible Gaza offensive actualize warnings repeatedly voiced by opponents of the withdrawal plan prior to its implementation.

Knesset Member Benny Elon told WND prior to the withdrawal, "As soon as Israel gets out [from Gaza], the attacks will escalate and Israel will have two choices, either let the terrorists kill Israelis or send troops back into Gaza."

Knesset Member Ayoob Kara, a member of the Likud Party, told WND in August: "Only Israel can guarantee the security of its citizens. The terrorists will see Israel's withdrawal as a victory for terror. They will increase attacks, and it's possible troops may have to go back in to stop the attacks."

Knesset Member Effie Eitam, also speaking before the Gaza withdrawal, told WND: "Israel's withdrawal will be a strategic and military disaster. Afterwards, Israel won't be inside Gaza to stop attacks and they may be forced with the decision of having to go back in."

The same leaders have been blasting Olmert's West Bank withdrawal plan.

About 200,000 Jews live in the West Bank. A separation barrier, still under construction in certain areas, cordons off nearly 95 percent of the territory from Israel's pre-1967 borders. More than half the West Bank's Jewish residents reside on the side of the fence closest to Israel. About 80,000 more Jews live on the other side of the barrier. Olmert officials have stated the past few weeks the new prime minister plans to enforce a withdrawal from all 68 Jewish towns that fall outside the barrier.

In a widely circulated WND article, leaders of every major Palestinian terror organization warned they will soon launch a massive violent campaign against Israel focused mainly on West Bank Jewish communities.

One senior terrorist said now that Olmert announced a West Bank withdrawal, terrorism against Israel must be stepped up "to prove we are chasing out the Israelis like we did in Gaza."