Defense Minister Yoav Gallant (Likud) sparked controversy recently by expressing concern and even criticism of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's handling of the Gaza Strip's "day after" scenario for when the war is over. Knesset member Amit Halevi (Likud) responded to the comments on Prof. Aryeh Eldad and Tal Shalev's radio show on 103FM.
"I'm not very good at party politics during a war – the main thing the defense minister did was to continue his mistake and that of the chief of staff in this war, which is a recipe for failure," he declared.
"The way to victory in the Gaza Strip only goes through full [Israeli] military control [of Gaza], there is no other way to defeat Hamas, to clean up all the mess that has accumulated. Instead, [Gallant] presents the irrational, opposite conclusion: [That Israel should not] be in control."
Did Netanyahu mean what he said?
He continued, saying: "I think [Netanyahu] spoke about military control... Sometimes not everything that gets said is necessarily what is meant."
"Maybe Gallant understands that no one will touch the Gaza Strip before we defeat Hamas? However, maybe these are the recommendations he received from Washington?" Eldad wondered, and MK Levi replied: "Washington has its own interests, we need to take care of our interests."