'Hamas will be ready for us'

From Ynet News, 27/5/07, by Ronny Sofer ....

Explosive tunnels, snipers, road bombs, all will be waiting should IDF decide to enter Gaza, says Shin Bet chief Yuval Diskin. Palestinians may have lost faith in leadership, he estimates, but Hamas is far from giving up

The escalating situation in Gaza and persistent Qassam salvo on the western Negev were at the heart of Shin Bet Chief Yuval Diskin's summary at Sunday's Cabinet meeting. "They will be more than ready for us," said Diskin when faced with ministers calling for a ground incursion in Gaza, or at least a more forceful reaction on part of the IDF. "They'll be waiting for us with explosive tunnels, snipers, road bombs and anything else they can think of, just in case we decide to go in," said Diskin.

The Shin Bet, he stressed, recommends, in agreement with the IDF, to continue the ongoing operation "in order to avoid hurting any civilians. We mustn't believe any fabricated calm," added Diskin. "We must keep hurting Hamas on a daily basis."

Changing the equation
"As much as I appreciate the efforts, the problem isn't with fortifications," said a livid Infrastructure Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer. "The equation needs to be changed. We need to make it clear to the world that we have reached the end of our tolerance, and we should respond harshly. "I don’t mean ground invasion. I'm talking about focusing heavy fire on the launch sites. We need special unit activity based on quality intelligence. This is the only way we can change the equation, not through fortification," he added.

"The way we operate has made things very difficult for Hamas," said Diskin when asked about IDF actions in the last few days. "Rival Palestinian factions are talking to each other, trying to reach a ceasefire, and that shows us just how hard up they are," he added. "Hamas and Khaled Mashaal are very concerned by the despair and misery among the Palestinian public. "The Palestinian public has lost faith in its leadership's ability to deal with the ongoing anarchy and worsening economy," said Diskin.

Hamas far from breaking point
Diskin went on to warn that even though morale at Gaza has hit an all-time low, Hamas has not necessarily reached its breaking point. "They know they don't have public support, and they're sustaining serious physical losses," said Diskin. "They now face actual difficulties in moving their rocket launchers around."

The ministers pushed further, asking if Hamas was capable of increasing the amount of missiles launched at Israel. "They can make such an effort, but for no longer than a few days," said Diskin. "They are limited by the difficulties in moving rocket launchers around, they can't make as many rockets as before and they have an increasing amount of casualties," he added.....

Yael Branovsky contributed to this article