Nearly one year since the “marches of return” started along the Gaza border fence, former defense minister Avigdor Liberman warned that “the most volatile Israeli border is the one it shares with the Gaza Strip."
Liberman said that an assessment of military intelligence published on Wednesday that indicated that it is likely that Israel will have a major escalation within the next 12 months with the Palestinians in Gaza or the West Bank “is completely consistent with my assessments over the past year. The question now is not 'Will there be another confrontation with Hamas in the Gaza Strip?' but rather 'When will this happen?'"
He said it is impossible to understand why the Israeli government “continues to strengthen the enemy in preparation for the next confrontation with us.”
He said the transfer of Qatari money and fuel to the Gaza Strip and the expansion of its fishing area serves to strengthen the military wing of Hamas. Liberman claimed public support for the terrorist organization is increasing both in Gaza and in the West Bank.
“The next confrontation must be the last confrontation,” he said. “We must strike a hard and disproportionate blow on Hamas - completely break their willpower to continue to fight against us and destroy their belief that they could ever defeat us.”