Diskin: Shin Bet wanted to overthrow Hamas during Olmert's term as PM

The Shin Bet had recommended Israel overthrow the Hamas regime in the Gaza Strip while Ehud Olmert was prime minister, Shin Bet head Yuval Diskin told the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee yesterday.

This would not require occupying the entire strip, and would enable Israel to advance the peace process, he said. However, he added, "It is not possible to uproot it from the hearts of the people."

Diskin said that the central question in an operation to overthrow the Hamas regime is the timing. "There is no room for an effective peace process" as long as Hamas rules Gaza, Diskin said.

If Palestinian Authority elections were held today, Hamas would very likely win in the West Bank as well as Gaza, he said.

Diskin said the group has the support of 15 to 20 percent of West Bank residents, while another 30 to 35 back Fatah. However, "swing voters" make up the remaining 50 percent, and they will determine the election's outcome, he said.

Fatah has serious organizational problems, while Hamas can easily mobilize its supporters, he said, adding that a Hamas-Muslim Brotherhood victory would endanger the entire region.

Diskin told the committee that 10 percent of the funds the Palestinian Authority sends to Gaza go straight to Hamas, but said that this is better than halting the money entirely, since some of ti goes to pay Palestinian Authority employee salaries.

Meanwhile, there are 300 smuggling tunnels between Gaza and Egypt in the Rafah area, Diskin said. Since January, 46 anti-aircraft missiles, 332 mortar shells, 37 rockets, dozens of anti-tank missiles and 17 tons of explosives have passed into Gaza through these tunnels, he said. Some of the tunnels are big enough to drive through.

Hamas was significantly weakened by Operation Cast Lead, Diskin said. The group is assessing the lessons, and has dismissed senior military figures. It is busy rebuilding its military capacity, including its rocket arsenal.

Hamas is known to be trying to obtain long-range rockets that could reach the Tel Aviv area, and to obtain rockets more precise than its Grads and Qassams. Diskin noted that the Israeli military has no information indicating that Hamas has managed to smuggle such advanced weaponry into Gaza.