Rafah invasion a danger for 'Israel', Netanyahu must end war: Ex PM
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According to Olmert, an attack on Rafah would be an unnecessary additional move, calling on Benjamin Netanyahu to stop the war.
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Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert takes questions from reporters after a news conference in New York, Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2020 (AP)
Bloomberg cited the former Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert saying that the invasion of Rafah would be "a danger we ["Israel"] would not be able to withstand".
According to Olmert, an attack on Rafah would be an unnecessary additional move, calling on Benjamin Netanyahu to stop the war, focus on drawing a plan for the Israeli occupation forces' retreat from Gaza, and seek international presence in the Strip.
It is worth noting that Netanyahu previously revealed in an interview with ABC that "those who oppose the war are welcoming our defeat in Gaza".
However, amid Netanyahu's insistence on the Rafah invasion, it seems like his cabinet and military both share different views on his plans.
The delusional concept of 'absolute victory'
A few days ago, Israeli media reported that conflict arose between Netanyahu and the IOF after he shared his plans. Earlier, discord between him and the Israeli Commander-in-Chief Herzi Halevi was also reported, according to Israeli broadcaster Channel 12.
Channel 12's political affairs analyst, Yaron Avraham, said the dispute arose when Netanyahu discussed the continuation of the Israeli military operation with Halevi.
The Israeli Prime Minister who heads the Israeli war cabinet is reportedly rushing the Israeli military to take direct action in Rafah, while Halevi stresses that necessary conditions need to be made available before such action could be taken.
Among these conditions is the "evacuation" of Palestinians from Rafah, in coordination with Egypt.
Reading between the lines, both Israeli political and military leading figures agree on the mass expulsion and displacement of Palestinians. However, they disagree on the timeframe and the method of doing so.
Avraham says Netanyahu is conflating between the Israeli war objectives and his own personal ambitions. It has become widely accepted that the continuation of the war on Gaza and achieving what Netanhayhu describes as an "absolute victory" ensure that his political career lasts.
On that point, Channel 12's Amnon Abramovich said that "absolute victory" is neither a political nor military concept, saying that the term is only constricted to Netanyhu's political practice. The analyst called the Prime Minister a "coward" who cannot "complete his tasks."
Read more: Rafah op. will put 'Israel' weeks away from 'total victory': Netanyahu
