Israel Ziv, former head of operations, on the continuation of the war in the face of strong global pressure-He said:
“The war itself ended two months ago.”
Last night (Sunday), US Vice President Kamala Harris called for an immediate cease-fire in the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas. Former Chief of Operations of the Israel Defense Forces, Major General Israel Ziv, spoke with Udi Segal and Tal Shalev on 103fm about international pressure on Israel and the decision not to send its representatives to meet with mediators and Hamas in Cairo.
“There was talk that Israel would complete military operations by January, but the Americans gave them a “delay” until March. It was quite clear that by March, from the American point of view, this was already a threshold that they could not cross. Internally, because of their internal campaign and international pressure, they could not support Israel under any circumstances, and in the end, they also had to take American considerations into account,” Ziv said.
International loan ended
“Accordingly, I believe that the time for American and international credit has expired, ” he added. “Currently, five countries have imposed an embargo on us, the European Union is also in the process of making such a decision, and the United Nations is undergoing a similar process. Israel’s international loan has come to an end.”
According to another statement, the war ended more than a month ago, and the Israeli army has moved on to the third phase. The army is no longer engaged in intense fighting, as it did at the beginning of the conflict, in Gaza or Khan Yunis. The army has shifted its focus to intensive operations, such as in Jenin and other areas. The military has already successfully broken Hamas ‘ military resistance. Currently, with the exception of a small area that could not be entered, the military is in full control of the territory.
According to the speaker, although they did not provoke the last terrorist, from the point of view of military control in the Gaza Strip, the IDF is able to arrive at any time of the day and almost anywhere. However, in order to effectively deal with the changes that are taking place in Hamas… it is no longer a military organization, it has returned to a terrorist organization operating underground, and this is a completely different story, which requires simultaneous actions to prevent the chaos that we see in front of us, with civilian control, because without civilian control we will have to bring units back inside to be present everywhere, or alternatively make the bold decision that the Government or Prime Minister is avoiding establishing a Palestinian authority there.
“Israel is behaving like a small child.”
During the conversation, he also expressed his opinion on Israel’s decision to boycott talks in Cairo with mediators and Hamas over a cease-fire. “I think it is a mistake not to send the Israeli delegation, because not sending it is, in fact, a way to express your claims or object to something in the process. It is not clear to me who exactly we are acting against with these steps, we are not doing this for the first time,” he said.
According to him, if we do this just to oppose Hamas, we will only strengthen their power. Israel behaves like a small child who does the opposite, you just give them more power. If this is done against intermediaries who make a huge effort to help, then in the end they will be turned away. The problem is with you. Internal justifications for why we are right are not interesting to anyone and do not contribute to anything.
“Israel did not put forward this demand for a list of prisoners from the very beginning, so even if it is correct and true, you did not put it forward after that. Did you forget to request it? Just keep it up. Secondly, it is much more important for us to show good will towards those who work for us all the time, regardless of whether a deal is made or not. Israel also needs to show its audience that it is doing everything it can to make this happen. You ask me if this will happen? I’m more skeptical. I’ve always been a skeptic until things actually happen, because I’m not sure that whoever is supposed to give the answers from the other sideis even functioning and acting in the direction of all these answers.”
From the point of view of strategy, I believe that it was necessary to act at the very beginning of the war. Given the situation and decision-making process after the October 7 strike, it’s not entirely clear what you’re getting yourself into. I can understand the reasoning behind why they did this or that.”
Israel Ziv
We also recommend reading:
What to Expect from the International Court of Justice, ICJ is a disaster or Israel’s first victory., Basic legal aspects of Israel’s war against Hamas (2023), Israel in court in The Hague
