Israeli General: The 'moderate' axis is helping us fight Hamas

In what represents a confirmation of the conclusions arrived at by Israeli political and security elite, the former head of military intelligence branch Aaron Zaeefi “Farkash” has said that the so-called moderate sunni axis has offered Israel a wide margin of flexibility to pursue the war on Hamas.

In an interview conducted with him by the Hebrew radio on Wednesday, Zaeefi explained that what is going on can be described as an earthquake whereby Arab states do not hesitate to cooperate with Israel in its war against radical Islamists, as he put it.

Zaeefi asked: “Who would have believed the day would come when Egypt would defend Israeli interests with such clarity and determination as is happening in the moves aimed at reaching a ceasefire”.

Farkash considered the clear decline in the drift toward democracy in the Arab world serves Israel interests. He said: “General Sisi simply says ‘I’m not bothered about democracy but my concern is fighting the Islamists who represent a danger to Egypt and its stability’. And this is what other Arab countries adopt too.

He added: “The Arab moderate states feel they are in the same boat with Israel. They see that there is an unprecedented convergence of interests between them and Tel Aviv, and this is what improves Israeli’s ability to confront Hamas.”

On the other hand, Zionist commentators have agreed that the most serious accomplishment made by Hamas in the war Israel is waging is represented in compelling world airlines to suspend their flights to Tel Aviv after Hamas military wing, Al-Qassam Brigades, succeeded on Monday in shelling an installation within Ben Gourian airport, Israel’s principal airport.

Chico Manesheh, the political commentator in Israel’s second radio network said on Wednesday morning that there is no dispute that Hamas managed “an important victory in the conscience, when it succeeded in shutting Israel’s airspace in the face of foreign flights”.

Manesheh added that thousands of Israelis have been cut off since then and are stranded in world capitals because there are no airlines that are willing to fly to Israel. He affirmed that this would increase the pressure on the government of Binyamin Netanyahu to agree to a ceasefire.

Manesheh noted that what is truly frustrating in the current war that Israel is waging on the Gaza Strip is that Hamas is the one that controls the decision as to whether to cease fire or continue the fighting.

In another context, Rabi Dove Luoor, the religious Israel for “Jewish Home” party, which is considered the third largest party in the ruling coalition has issued a fatwa (religious edict) permitting the Israeli army to target Palestinian civilians who are not involved in combat.

Maareef newspaper website mentioned on Wednesday morning that Luoor issued his fatwa in response to international criticism directed at the Israeli army after hundreds of Palestinians civilians, including women, children and elderly men, were killed by Zionist shelling.

It is worth mentioning that Rabi Luoor did previously issue a fatwa that permitted the poisoning of Palestinian water wells, stealing their olives crops and anointing Baruch Goldstein, the perpetrator of the Ibrahimi Mosque massacre in 1994, as “a saint and a hero”.

Source: Arabi21