Fwd: Gaza

'Had the IDF been ordered to, it could have seized the whole of the
Gaza Strip in a week, and spent up to two years taking apart Hamas's
guerrilla army, but this has not been the goal of the operation thus
far, a senior military source said Sunday.

"Had we been ordered to defeat Hamas, we would have done it. We would
have drafted four divisions, evacuated the Gazan population from
battlegrounds, conquered the area and scanned it thoroughly.

It would take a week to take Gaza, and up to two years to destroy
terrorist infrastructure," the source said.

In such a scenario, "A guerrilla war would have started. This was not
the mission given to the IDF, and rightfully so," the source said.
"The IDF divided up Gaza dozens of times, most recently in Operation
Cast Lead [in 2009]. Every brigade can do it. The question is, what is
the aim?" The goal of the offensive was not to topple Hamas, but to
create a better security environment for Israel, the source
continued.'

http://www.jpost.com/Operation-Protective-Edge/We-could-have-taken-Gaza-in-a-week-but-that-wasnt-our-mission-says-senior-IDF-source-369954