Defense Minister Ehud Barak on Monday stated that if the ceasefire does not hold up, the IDF is prepared to act and he is not afraid to order such an operation should the situation demand it.

Barak made his comments to visiting Austrian President Heinz Fischer, explaining that while Israel prefers to avoid a major military operation, one would be ordered if left with no other alternative.

Siding with the minister is party member National Infrastructure Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer, who stated “we saw what happened in Lebanon,” expressing his support for Barak’s insistence that Israel continue exhibiting restraint instead of ordering troops into Gaza.

Ben-Eliezer stated it would not be difficult to sent a very large force into Gaza, but this would have “catastrophic results” as was seen in the Second Lebanon War.

In response to increasing calls from cabinet ministers to enter Gaza, both Barak and Ben-Eliezer related to the statements as “cheap election campaign tactics”.

(Yechiel Spira – YWN Israel)