Israeli army generals have been calling for massive raids and operations in the West Bank in a bid to destroy militants infrastructure there before Israel's further pullout from the region, Israel's Jerusalem Post reported on Tuesday.
The call, made by senior members of the Israel Defense Forces ( IDF) General Staff, came ahead of a further Israeli withdrawal from the West Bank, which is outlined in Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's convergence plan.
At the moment, the IDF has cut off northern West Bank from the rest of the region to prevent Islamic Jihad militants from entering Israel, said the post.
Concerning the pending military operation in the West Bank, some Israeli generals expressed different opinions on the need for such an operation.
Major General Amos Gilad, head of the Defense Ministry's Political-Military Bureau, was cited by the Post as saying that the main question yet to be decided was whether Israel would retain a military presence in evacuated areas of the West Bank.
"If the army stays there, then there is no need for such an operation, but if the IDF pulls out together with the settlers, then there might be a need for such an operation to destroy terror infrastructure prior to the withdrawal," another high-ranking defense official said.
Olmert has been touring around the world to seek support for his convergence plan since his U.S. visit in May.
Olmert vowed to set Israel's final borders by 2010 by pulling out isolated settlements in the West Bank but keeping bigger ones with or without peace talks with the Palestinian side.
Source: Xinhua
