Colonel Richard Kemp:
No other army in the world has ever done more than Israel is
doing now to save the lives of innocent civilians in a combat zone. And people like Ban Ki-moon or President
Obama or other world leaders who tell Israel they should do more - perhaps Israel
should ask them what more they can do?
Islamist extremists around the world use very similar
tactics. We’ve seen young boys being given hand grenades to throw at British soldiers
with the intention that because they are young boys the soldier won’t shoot so the
attacker would be able to do so without being killed himself. On the other hand,
if they do shoot that is a propaganda victory for the Taliban.
Many British citizens, civilians, are influenced a great
deal by Hamas propaganda, indirectly normally, but also by the way complex subjects
are portrayed in the media and incidentally the media in some cases bare responsibility
for the killing that is taking place because they are themselves projecting
Hamas’s desire at propaganda and that is causing the conflict to continue. So,
in some respect irresponsible media have some responsibility. And the majority of the British public are
taken in by the influence of the media in this respect. There is a difference in
the attitude if you talk to a British soldier or a former British soldier. Because
British soldiers have fought this kind of enemy, exactly this kind of enemy in
Afghanistan and in Iraq. British soldiers understand what Israelis doing and
support what Israel is doing on the whole.
Question: Do you think the IDF in the end of this conflict
can make Hamas surrender?
Colonel Richard Kemp:
Inevitably, Israel’s inexorable military force driving in
trough Gaza will lead to the surrender of Hamas. Unfortunately, it will cost
quite a large number of Israeli soldiers' lives. Of course,
whether that happens depends on pressure from the international community, the
plans of the IDF and the Prime Minster of Israel, whether or not there is a
ceasefire of some sort before Hamas is completely defeated.
