Ex-commander: Israel will gain nothing from new attack on Gaza

Israel will gain nothing from a new military attack on the Gaza Strip, former Israeli Commander Shlomo Turgeman said.

The army official who led the offensive against Gaza in 2014 said: “The Israeli government has to improve the economic situation in Gaza in order to decrease the level of security danger posed to Israel.”

“At the same time, the government should stop Hamas from reinforcing its power.”

Turgeman warned that the occupation of Gaza would mean taking responsibility for the lives of two million Palestinians.

He stressed that Israel would not accept this “even if Gaza was served on a golden plate” as this would be a greater financial burden and an economic disaster for Israel.

Read: Remembering the 2014 Israeli offensive against Gaza

According to Turgeman, a new military operation against Gaza could flare up the Syrian and Lebanese fronts. “Even without the involvement of these fronts, a military confrontation with Gaza will not be in favour of Israel,” he warned.

Such a confrontation would be complicated and might lead to the deterioration of the situation in the occupied West Bank, he added.