India Tomorrow
NEW DELHI—Former IFS officer and ambassador to Palestine Zikrur Rahman opines that Israel can enter Gaza but they will be resisted vociferously by Hamas and other Palestinian fighters. He India’s ambassador to Palestine between 2005-08.
In an interview with NDTV India, Mr. Zikrur Rahman said that this would not be the first time when Israel would enter Gaza but it has always been tough for them to stay there as they cannot afford daily losses. He recalled that till 1967 Israel was in Gaza but it was vexed by street fights and finally, it decided to come out of that place.
He said that it is not possible for thousands of people to move out of Gaza and take refuge in Egypt. Also, Egypt will not allow such a huge number of people to enter their country.
He claimed that Israel helped Hamas against the Palestine Liberation Organisation and Yasser Arafat’s Fatah but they are finding it difficult to control Hamas now. He said that Hamas fighters are the son of the soil and they know the territory quite well.
The former diplomat said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is posturing to enter Gaza for the sake of his popularity and it is not an easy job for the Israeli army.
He added, “Israel will face heavy losses again as hundreds of tunnels will be a dark area for the Israeli army. Hamas is in a position of do or die. So, they will fight it out and Israel will find it tough and they will have to move out after a few weeks or months.”
He suggested that a two-state solution is the only way to end the Palestine-Israel conflict. He recalled that after the Oslo Accord, Palestinians were ready to recognize Israel and co-exist with them but somehow Israel refused to honour that accord and the result is the continued suffering of the civilians. He insisted that the world will have to recognize that the Palestinian issue and the Hamas issue are not the same. He said that Hamas may have five to six thousand fighters while the population of Gaza is around 2.3 million.
