Israel Defense Forces spokesperson Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari, declared that Hamas cannot be destroyed and that the Israeli “political echelon” (the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu) should stop misleading the public.
“Hamas cannot be destroyed. Hamas is an idea,” Hagari told Israel’s Channel 13 on June 19 in an interview, reported Ynetnews. “Those who think it can be made to disappear are wrong. It’s the Muslim Brotherhood.”
Referring to a policy for the “day after,” which Netanyahu’s government does not have, Hagari said, “What we can do is foster something new to replace Hamas. Something that will make the population aware that someone else is distributing food and managing public services. Who will that be? What will it be? That’s for the political leadership to decide. But to truly weaken Hamas, this is the way.” As for how that is to be done,"that’s for the political echelon to decide, and the IDF will implement. But the notion that Hamas can be destroyed, that it can be eradicated, is simply misleading the public. If we don’t bring something else to Gaza, we will end up with Hamas again.”
