Oded Revivi, Mayor of Efrat, an Israeli settlement in the West Bank, said that people there fear an October 7 like attack.
Under Revivi, also Lieutenant Colonel, his tank battalion was awarded a certificate of excellence by the President of Israel.
In an exclusive conversation with IANS, Revivi spoke about the ongoing Israel-Hamas war.
Q As a Mayor of Efrat, what is your take on the war
A: We have declared war after being attacked by a "terror group", Hamas. Hamas was elected by the people of Gaza and they are "enjoying" the benefits of being elected.
They carried out a brutal attack at the innocent people inside Israel which is worse than 9/11. The US declared war against al-Qaeda after 9/11 terror attack and similarly Israel had no other way but to declare war against Hamas.
Q. What is the situation of Erfat now ?
A. Efrat for years had built good relations with its neighbours. The people of our town used to help our neighbours with their medical emergencies and even we had jumped the line and supported them over.
However, post the October 7 attack on our people, there is a lack of trust against Arabs, our people are fearing that the people in their neighbouring towns would imitate what was done by Hamas in the villages and town of Israel and we have taken lot of security measures. We are investing a lot and securing the boundaries of our town so that the people of Efrat are safe.
Q. Do you expect any offensive in West Bank area
A. I think I have partially answered it in the second question. We have seen the neighbours celebrating the brutal attack and we have taken our measures to protect our people.
Q. As a Lieutenant Colonel and Mayor of Erfat, what do you think the war is going towards
A. I do not know where the war is going towards. There are lot of things and lot of issues which are being discussed between Israel and International community led by the US. I understand that Israel has to coordinate with all of them in the best interests of the state of Israel and its people.
Q. Has International pressure led to the delay in ground offensive by Israel?
A: I am unaware of whether International pressure has led to the delay in ground offensive by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). I think Israel has taken all precautions so that Israeli soldiers are not killed in the onslaught in Gaza and also to ensure that civilians who are unrelated to this are injured as little as possible. I think that Israel will attack once it finds that it has reached the potential time to attack and achieve the goals that the Government of Israel has set.
Q. There have been several people who were opposed to military action in Gaza earlier, but a large number are now for an action?
A. Yes, there is a definite shift in the attitude of people of Israel. Many people were expecting that we could reach some agreement with a more sane leadership of the Gaza strip.
We thought that the people of Gaza would change their elected people to someone who are more productive, builds a better future, invests their money in tourist attractions, in hospitals, in schools, and educates their younger generation not to hate but actually to build relationships.
The terrorist attack on people who were partying in Israel definitely shocked the people of Gaza, and now there is an overwhelming support within the state of Israel to respond to the attack. The people want to remove an organisation like Hamas to prevent any further attacks on Israel.
Q. Was there a failure on the part of the Israel establishment leading to the attack?
A. There was a belief that the fence would give a sense of security. We heavily invested in the fences to prevent "terrorists" from Gaza crossing over to Israel and blowing themselves up in cities like Tel Aviv and Jaffa and Haifa. The defence was effective and terrorists did not cross over.
We invested in a technology called iron domes to prevent missiles hitting us. We also raised the height of the fences to prevent all missiles that were being fired at us. In response, Hamas dug tunnels underneath the fences and we invested to identify these tunnels before they actually showed up.
However, we were definitely surprised to find out how easy it was for the terrorist to eliminate all the cameras and sensors and to cut through our fence. Now, it is clear that the fence does not provide security with a "brutal neighbour" like Hamas and I think that our leaders would have learned their lesson and now the whole defensive system of Israel will look better and more protective in order to make sure that such incidents do not occur again.
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