Between northern brigade exercise and planning next battlefront, Brig.-Gen. Eyal Eisenberg makes time for special interview in which he warns Hamas of IDF's crushing capabilities and doubts necessity for Iron Dome missile defense system

Hanan Greenberg
Published: 09.24.10, 18:34 / Israel News

In another two months, Brig.-Gen. Eyal Eisenberg, 46, will have served as commander of the IDF's Gaza Division for two years, and thus will finish his time in office. This week, he divided his time between a northern regiment exercise that dealt with one of the scenarios involving a serious incident along the border fence, and planning the next campaign with paratrooper forces.

The next battle, Eisenberg estimates, will be more difficult and more powerful than its predecessor: "We have the capability to deal a serious blow to Hamas. We have many tools, and they are all legitimate, even targeting senior officials. And we should not hesitate to use these tools," he said.

Recently, the IDF has taken note of no small number of attempts made by terrorist organizations to carry out significant attacks against soldiers with an emphasis on capture. Brig.-Gen. Eisenberg discovered that a number of smuggling tunnels in the process of being built were intended to serve as infrastructure for kidnappings.

"It is forbidden for anyone to fall asleep on the watch," he warned. "We must continue being alert because there is no doubt that there will be another clash here. It is difficult to predict when exactly or under what circumstances, but it will happen."

Eisenberg also presented a surprising thesis regarding the Iron Dome defensive missile shield system, saying that "it means we are prepared to receive fire."