WEYMOUTH: In Rafah, why are you destroying so many houses? MOFAZ: We are not destroying houses without a reason. The houses that we have destroyed had tunnels dug [under them, leading to Egypt]. The tunnels–we have exposed 90 [in recent years] and there are more–are the main way that Palestinian terror groups get ammunition and anti-tank weapons. We must stop it. Part of the munitions smuggled in were RPG rockets that hit our tanks, and we lost 11 soldiers.
If Israel is pulling out of Gaza, why do you have to conduct this operation? You have to stop the penetration of armaments and explosives. [After we pull out], we will continue to make sure that the penetration of munitions will be stopped.
The international community is protesting your actions. The world should understand that we don’t have any other choice. We destroy houses that are used by terrorists… One picture out of context can change public opinion. They do not show what they have done to the bodies of our soldiers. They played soccer with the head of one of our soldiers.
What do you say about the killing of Palestinian civilians this week? We are not targeting civilians. It was unintentional. We are sorry.
What could the Egyptians do to stop the inflow of munitions into Gaza? We hope the Egyptians will do more.
Would you alter Israel’s peace treaty with Egypt to let Egyptian soldiers come closer to the Gaza border? It’s a possibility.
Do you favor an Israeli withdrawal from Gaza? We must continue with disengagement. If we had a partner on the other side, we could do it by agreement. If not, we should do it unilaterally. We cannot wait. The disengagement plan is a historic move because it is the first time we have spoken of relocating settlements. The prime minister intends to bring a new plan [to his cabinet]. Disengagement is crucial for the state of Israel.
You have said that the settlements in Gaza were a historic mistake. I believe so. They are a mistake because having thousands of Jewish settlers among millions of Palestinians is a mistake, and we will not stay in Gaza forever.
If you do nothing, will the Arabs become a majority in Israel? We should make some painful decisions to create a better situation in the state of Israel. We need a homeland for Jews from all over the world. Israel will be the only Jewish state with a Jewish majority.
Is withdrawal from Gaza and four West Bank settlements enough? Won’t Israel have to vacate significant parts of the West Bank? I believe Gaza should be the first step. It will take at least one year until we implement this plan.
Do you have a vision of the second step? That should be with a partner on the other side. We don’t have that plan yet. It is very important to mention what President Bush said in his historic meeting with Prime Minister Sharon on April 14–that Palestinian refugees would come back only to the Palestinian state. Otherwise, we will not have a Jewish state in which the majority of the people are Jewish.
Is there a partner you know of? It is very dangerous to mention names on the Palestinian side. As long as [Yasir] Arafat is there, he will not let Prime Minister Abu Ala implement the vision of President Bush–dismembering the terrorist infrastructure and reforming the Palestinian Authority. I believe that other pragmatic [Palestinian] leaders will change things step by step.
Should Arafat be expelled? When I was chief of staff, I said he should be exiled and someone else would take his place. Arafat is not a partner. He sends money to the Fatah Tanzim to back terror against us and gives orders for terror against us.
Does Fatah cooperate with the other terror groups? Until a year ago, each organization did its own activity. During the last year, we have seen cooperation between them… I personally believe that we should have interim agreements before we reach a permanent agreement. But we have to start.
How do you see the situation in Iraq? I believe the U.S. has no other choice than to fight against Al Qaeda and opposition groups.
