“Rafah is unlike anything; there the decisive battle of the war will take place”

Peloni:  An important interview with Gen. Avivi.  I look forward to the full interview being released on Friday.

Brigadier General (resp.) Amir Avivi in an extensive interview with Mossaf Maariv: “We have all the means to fight in Rafah and, if necessary, in Lebanon as well. We are not in a situation where we are unable to fight because the Americans do not want us to fight”

Sari Makower Belikov | Maariv | May 29, 2024

Amir Avivi (Photo: Yossi Aloni)

Brigadier General Amir Avivi, CEO of the security movement, in an extensive interview with the Ma’ariv supplement that will be captured in full on Friday. “There are dozens of tunnels in Rafah that are the strip’s oxygen pipe to the world, and from them come weapons and terrorists,” he said.

“The occupation of Rafah may lead to the beginning of the complete collapse. That is where the decisive battle will take place, both military and security. That is why we need to enter it with planes, artillery, tanks, and we must decide it because we are in a fateful moment. If we destroy Rafah to the end and take responsibility for the aid The humanitarian, we can decide the war within two months.” 

“Precisely, the resistance of the security establishment to a military government in Gaza and control over the distribution of humanitarian aid keeps victory away, because it does not understand that the complete surrender of Hamas will only come when the aid reaches the residents and not the fighters.”

When asked how one can differentiate between fighters and civilians? Avivi answered: “The men will first undergo an investigation by the Shin Bet.” A real terrorist will not come under investigation by the Shin Bet. There is no problem with laying siege and subduing an enemy. It’s logistics and we have solutions. It’s better to deal with logistics than to send soldiers to risk their lives.”

The director general of the Securityists added: “The American administration is pushing in directions that will endanger the existence of the State of Israel. It takes a lot of experience and great courage to stand up to him. The State of Israel can take its fate into its own hands and occupy Rafah against the wishes of the Americans. Why? Because for them it’s interests and for us it’s an existential matter. We cannot allow a reality where the Hamas of the October Shi’a remains on its feet. And so there is a certain moment when the State of Israel has to do what is good for it, not only what is good for the Americans.”

Avivi emphasized: “We have all the means to fight in Rafah and, if necessary, in Lebanon as well. We are not in a situation where we are unable to fight because the Americans do not want us to fight. And I believe that if we make the decisions that are good for us, the US will also make them in the end. I Very disappointed by the fact that the Prime Minister, the Minister of Defense, Benny Gantz and Gadi Eisenkot do not see fit to stand next to each other at a press conference, look directly at the administration and say, friends, this is an existential matter, we will do what is best for us, we really thank you for all the help and support and hope you will continue to help For us also in the future.” 

He explained: “But now, in unity, we will do what is good for the people of Israel. I think that unity will also lead to a change in the American position. We saw this with the intention of imposing sanctions on the Nahal Battalion. As soon as the entire political system aligned in an outcry against this move, the Americans changed their position. Why? Because they saw a unified Israeli position.”

When asked why they did not enter Rafah at the beginning of the war at the same time as the occupation of Gaza, when the world still supported Israel’s right to defend itself?, he answered: “A day will come and they will have to investigate the reason for this question. In my opinion, when we entered the northern Gaza Strip, most of the divisions were in the north for fear of deterioration against Hezbollah. When it was created Realizing that there would be no war with Lebanon, they began to send divisions to the south. And at this point there is really room to ask, if you have already launched an attack on Khan Yunis, why didn’t you attack in Rafah as well?”

Avivi concluded: “I think this is a very fundamental question because at that stage we were already in momentum, the entire IDF headquarters was in the south and it was possible to continue the fighting, end it and release the reservists. If they had acted this way, we could have ended the war already Three months ago. So today they are trying to give answers to this, the management of the armed forces, the economy on the home front, the reservists who have to return, the school year that has started, but the big question remains and someone will have to answer it.”