Israeli Ambassador to Korea Akiba Tor (63) said that the war against Hamas will not be as prolonged as the war in Ukraine.
Ambassador Tor, who met with the Seoul Shinmun at the Israeli Embassy in Jongno-gu, Seoul on the 26th, responded to the international community’s concerns about the prolongation of the war by saying, “Our war will not be like the war in Ukraine,” adding, “The deployment of ground troops was delayed by about two weeks, but it can be done within a month or two at the shortest, and at the longest. “Within a few months, the Israeli military will be able to end the war,” he said.
Russia also declared that it would end its invasion of Ukraine within a week in February of last year, but the war has continued for more than 610 days. When asked, he declared, “We will not fight like the Russian army.” He continued, “We will comply with the laws of war, minimize Palestinian civilian casualties, safely rescue held hostages, and at the same time use all of our capabilities to achieve a quick victory like the last war against Hamas.”
Regarding the reason for the failure of the initial response to the Hamas attack, which resulted in the death of more than 1,400 people, Ambassador Tor said, “There was an intelligence failure스포츠토토 by Israel’s domestic intelligence agencies, the Shin Bet and the General Security Service (GSS), and the judgment of the leadership, including the Army and the National Security Office, was delayed. “I don’t want to make excuses, but I think we made a ‘mistake,’” he said.
He continued, “Agricultural exports have increased through ports leading from Gaza to the Mediterranean, tens of thousands of Gaza people are working in Israel, and the economy of the Gaza Strip has continued to improve,” adding, “Although the Hamas regime is certainly cruel and terrible, I have always considered it a rational conversation partner. As a political association, it was thought that the interests of its citizens would be given top priority. “But this time, Hamas chose to commit ‘organizational suicide,’ leading to its own destruction.”
Regarding Israel’s operation to deploy large-scale ground troops, he said, “It is by no means an easy task, but it is unavoidable. This war is taking place not 10,000 kilometers away, but 10 kilometers in front.”
Regarding the reason why Israel aims to completely eliminate Hamas, Ambassador Thor said, “If we are defeated by Hamas, we will face more military attacks from the ‘bad neighbors’ who invade our territory. Therefore, efforts for peace negotiations will be in vain.” “It will be,” he claimed. Regarding the possibility of a second or third Hamas emerging, he said, “We cannot destroy their ideology, but we can weaken it,” and “As long as Palestine does not threaten us, Israel will guarantee their autonomy.” said.
Regarding the aftermath of the war, he predicted, “Israel’s economic foundation is strong, so it will recover as quickly as it did after all previous wars,” and “the suspended ‘Abraham Accords’ will be quickly resumed and further strengthened.” The resumption of this agreement, named after Abraham, the common ancestor of Jews and Arabs, means pushing for the normalization of relations with neighboring Arab countries, including the normalization of diplomatic relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia, which have been blamed for the Hamas attack.
He also said, “We know that there are North Korean-made weapons inside the Gaza Strip,” and “The portable rocket (RPG) weapons that Hamas has are probably North Korean-made 122mm rockets.” “It is not clear exactly how North Korea’s weapons got there,” he said. He continued, “However, it is Iran that supports Hamas internationally and militarily, and Iran has had a relationship with North Korea for a long time,” adding, “We understand that military technology, such as past missile programs and drone production blueprints, has been transferred to North Korea.”