Britannia Radio

Maj. Gen. Galant to Hamas: IDF's response to Qassams may be surprising IDF Spokesperson 23 March 2010 , 18:17 The head of the Southern Command Maj. Gen. Yoav Galant spoke about restoring  calm in the south. He also referred to the soldiers morality during  Operation Cast Lead and the recent investigation on the death of Soldier  Gavriel Cheptich. The head of the Southern Command Maj. Gen. Yoav Galant, spoke today (Mar.  23) about restoring calm to the Southern communities and utilizing the  element of surprise against Hamas if need be. Referring to the recent intensifying rocket attacks originating from Gaza,  Maj. Gen. Galant said that, "We hope this is a temporary event. Our response  is measured and calculated, based on our intention to facilitate the  continuation of the quiet and a normal life in the south. I suggest that the  enemy not repeat its mistake the way it misjudged our response in Operation  Cast Lead. The blood of the State of Israel's citizens will not be shed  without consequence," he added. Moreover, Galant said, that the IDF will work to restore calm in the south,  "utilizing our capabilities including the element of surprise." He also  added that the achievement gained during Operation Cast Lead will not shape  the long term reality. Later, Maj. Gen. Galant spoke about the moral behavior of soldiers during  Operation Cast lead saying that, "During Operation Cast lead, for every  three terrorists, one Palestinian civilian was killed in the fighting.  Senior Commanders of armies from countries that criticized Israel's morality  during Cast Lead have come here to learn exactly how we achieved such a  thing." Additionally, Galant referred to the death of Staff Sergeant Gavriel  Cheptich saying that "We are looking into the details of the incident, we  will draw the necessary conclusions and lessons to see how to improve our  operations in the future."