Israeli army to ‘pull out the roots’ after ‘mowing the lawn’ in West Bank: Gallant
Israel’s Defence Minister Yoav Gallant says the military has been “mowing the lawn” during an ongoing major operation in the West Bank – that has killed at least 39 Palestinians – but will eventually need to “pull out the roots”.
Local media reported that Gallant, while speaking to senior military officers on Wednesday, said “the rise of terror” in the West Bank was the army’s main focus at present.
“The process is an attack to prevent terror. We are mowing the lawn, [but] the moment will also come when we will pull out the roots, that must be done.” He added that there was “no other option” but to use “all the forces, everyone who is needed, with full strength”.
Israel’s aim is to ultimately ‘swallow the entire West Bank’
Israel feels “empowered” to intensify its assaults in the occupied West Bank due to the lack of consequences for its mass onslaught in Gaza, says Tamer Qarmout, assistant professor of public policy at the Doha Institute for Graduate Studies.
“Israel is importing the same war tactics it has been using in Gaza into the West Bank to crush the Palestinian resistance, to crush Palestinian liberation aspirations, and most importantly, to collectively punish Palestinian society,” Qarmout told Al Jazeera.
“There is no excuse for the ruthless destruction of civilian infrastructure,” he said, claiming it is part of Israel’s strategy to drive more Palestinians from their homes and ultimately “swallow the entire West Bank”.
No avoiding war with Hezbollah, says Israeli minister
Israel’s far-right finance minister Bezalel Smotrich said the country will inevitably go to war with Hezbollah, a fight he acknowledged will be “complex and costly”.
“We are now paying the price for 30 years of misconceptions and the unwillingness to bear the costs of war,” said Smotrich in comments carried by Israel’s Maariv news outlet. “The war must end with no Hamas and no Hezbollah.
“There is no choice. It [the war] will be complex and costly, but the time for change has come.”
Smotrich has repeatedly threatened the Hezbollah group during the war on Gaza, saying Israel might reoccupy the southern Lebanese territory it operates from.
