I am very upset. Netanyahu keeps talking about protecting our citizens rather than destroying Hamas. What better protection is there than that? His goal is still restoring calm. Ted Belman<
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed the press Wednesday evening and said the operation in Gaza would not end until calm is returned to Israel. He refused to respond torumors regarding the fate of Hamas’ military leader Mohammed Deif, only saying that “Hamas leaders are legitimate targets.”
Netanyahu began his speech by praising IDF soldiers and sending his condolences to the bereaved families. He said the operation was not over yet, and would not be until calm is returned to the south.
“Our policy regarding Hamas is simple: If you fire, we will hit back. They think they will exhaust us, but they are wrong,” Netanyahu said.
“The operation did not end. Our struggle against terror groups is a long and goes back many years. In recent weeks we have dealt Hamas a massive blow, the most serious blow since their establishment. We are determined to continue and use any means needed,” he said.
When asked if negotiating with Hamas makes it stronger at the expense of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, Netanyahu said that “Hamas is isolated. Who supports Hamas? Qatar, Turkey and Iran. The entire Arab world is against it.”
When further pressed on the issue, he said: “I hope (Abbas) plays constructive role, but he must understand that Israel has the right to defend itself. I look forward to restarting peace talks with a Palestinian government committed to fighting terror.”
“We need resolve,” Netanyahu said, “we must remain united internally and stay brave,”
Netanyahu said, however, that he saw a “new diplomatic horizon” ahead for Israel in the region, alluding to possible diplomacy with Palestinians ahead once the war was over.”
Regarding relations with the US, which seemed to have hit an all-time low during the operation, Netanyahu said “there is no crisis with the US. I spoke with Kerry and we had a very good conversation. We also spoke yesterday and the day before. I have spoken with Obama a number of times. The relations is stronger than it what is being said. We recived support and I praise Obama for it.”
He further thanked the US for giving Israel the emergency funds it requested for additional Iron Dome batteries and praised their support of a demilitarized
Netanyahu did not comment on Deif, but when he was specifically asked about the Hamas military leader’s fate, Netanyahu said “Not only are Hamas leaders legitimate targets, they are a top priority. No one is immune.”
Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon also spoke, and said that Hamas is hiding the extent of damage that Israel has caused the organization, including the names of militants who’ve been killed.
Netanyahu reiterated his position regarding Hamas and the Islamic State militants currently ravaging Iraq and Syria, and said they were “branches of the same tree.”
Deif’s fate
Palestinian sources said that the IDF struck Deif’s home in Gaza Tuesday night, killing his wife and child and breaking a ceasefire. Hamas officials however, denied that Deif was killed or wounded in the attack.
An Israeli intelligence source told Fox News on Wednesday that the working assessment was that Deif had been killed. The Fox report contradicted Hamas’ claims and made the ultimate fate of Deif unclear.
Deif has escaped multiple assassination attempts over the last decade and Israel regards him as a high profile target responsible for attacks against Israeli civilians. A Hamas spokesperson said Wednesday that Deif and his family are the spirit of the Palestinian opposition movement.
Meanwhile, an Israeli delegation has landed in Egypt, local report claimed, indicating Israel could be considering renewing diplomatic efforts to reach a long term ceasefire in Gaza despite renewed rocket fire on Israel which prompted the return of the previous delegation Tuesday.
Meanwhile, Arab League chief Nabil al-Arabi accused Israel on Wednesday of “blocking” all attempts to end the Gaza conflict, a day after the collapse of a ceasefire in the Palestinian territory, which the US and Israel blame Hamas for.
The Egyptian news source Al-Youm al-Sabea reported Wednesday afternoon that an Israeli delegation led by Eyal Danino, a policy advisor at the Israeli embassy, had landed at Cairo’s airport to hold meetings with Egyptian officials for discussions on finding a way to reach a ceasefire agreement with Hamas.
Attila Somfalvi, Roi Kais, Elior Levy and AFP contributed to this report
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said on Wednesday night during a televised address that “Operation Protective Edge is not over.”
He said this his main priority at this time was to protect the citizens of Israel and keep them safe. He said the fight against terror, including international terror organizations, is Israel’s biggest challenge.
“This is the hardest that Hamas has ever been hit since it was founded. I promise that we will not stop until the goal of security for our citizens is achieved.”
Netanyahu warned Hamas that “If you shoot, you will be hit back seven-fold.”
When asked if Israel had attempted to assassinate Hamas military leader Muhammad Deif, Netanyahu said, “the leaders of Hamas are legitimate targets, no one is invincible.”
Netanyahu compared Hamas to the Islamic State, saying that the organizations were “branches of the same tree.”
The Prime Minister’s comments came following a long security cabinet meeting in Tel Aviv discussing the developments in Gaza, and how to go forward.
The meeting came amid an escalation of the fighting in Gaza, with Hamas firing dozens of rockets at Israel throughout the day.
The meeting also took place amid growing public criticism among some of the key ministers of the way Netanyahu is managing the Gaza crisis.
For instance, Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman, in a posting on his Facebook page a few hours before the meetings, said “I hope that it is now clear to everyone that the policy of ‘quiet will be met with quiet’ means that Hamas is the one that takes the initiative and the one that decides when, where, and how many rockets it fires on Israeli civilians, while we make do with reacting. Even if our reaction is a strong it is still a reaction.”
“Hamas controls the intensity of the flames when it is convenient for it, it interrupts the daily routine of Israeli civilians, particularly those living in the South,” the foreign minister wrote. “It happened on [Tuesday], it’s happening today, and it is liable to happen on September 1st and also on the eve of Rosh Hashanah..”
“The proposals we have heard up until now, whereby there is no deal, no agreement, and no unequivocal commitment by the Palestinians to halt their fire forever means that we are in for a war of attrition, which is something that the State of Israel cannot be dragged into.” He slammed unilateral proposals suggested by “certain politicians suffering from memory lapse,” and said he wanted to “remind everyone about a unilateral measure known as ‘disengagement,’ that was already been carried out in Gaza, and which we are paying for until today..”
“Even if, Heaven forbid, [Meretz chief] Zehava Gal-On was prime minister and [Hadash MK] Dov Henin was defense minister, they, too, would ultimately order a wide-scale military operation to topple the Hamas regime,” Liberman wrote.
“So when people speak seriously about the security of the citizens of Israel, one needs to understand that there is no other viable alternative except for a determined Israeli campaign that leads to one thing – bringing Hamas to submission.”
Gal-On’s office issued a press release in response to Liberman’s post, calling the foreign minister’s claims “infantile.”
“Liberman is trying to sell us the delusion of liquidating Hamas for years now,” the Meretz chairperson said. “If the residents of the South are still vulnerable to rocket fire and shelling after a month of destruction and killing in the Gaza Strip, then apparently this operation didn’t change anything, and no military operation will change it.”
“Whoever calls for a more massive response and more assassinations in order to create deterrence and achieve a victory apparently has not learned the bloody lessons of the last month, during which 64 soldiers were killed on the Israeli side and 2,000 Palestinians were killed.”
Justice Minister Tzipi Livni also took public issue with Netanyahu’s policies, saying in a Ynet interview that the attempt to reach an arrangement with Hamas was “not right,” and that she was not willing to “pay Hamas,” or “establish Hamastan on our southern border that will send a message to Islamic State (IS), and Hezbollah, and all the other crazy groups in the region that we will be pay a price for quiet.”
Rather than come to an agreement with Hamas in Egypt, Livni is in favor of Israeli working with the US, EU, UN and Palestinian Authority to create different reality inside Gaza that would include demilitarization, massive humanitarian aid, and eventually transferring control of the Gaza Strip to the PA.
Meanwhile in Paris, French President Francois Hollande called on Israel and the Palestinians to resume truce talks, and said the demilitarization of the enclave and a lifting of a blockade should be part of a deal.
“We are at a critical point. France supports the Egyptian mediation,” Hollande told Le Monde in an interview. “Gaza can no longer remain like it is. The objective must be a demilitarization and a lifting of the blockade.”
“Demilitarization can only be done under the auspices of the Palestinian Authority. France with Europe can be useful in lifting the blockade at the Rafah crossing. Gaza must neither be an open prison or a military base,” Hollande said.
Hollande said if negotiations failed then the international community would have to take the lead to find a solution.
“We must do everything to ensure negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority resume to find a solution to the conflict. We know the parameters, the only solution is a two states living side by side,” he said.
Reuters contributed to this report
Moshe Ya’alon (Bogie) opposed the Gaza Disengagement,. Olmert called him a “jerk” and fired him.
I’ve always liked General Ya’alon. He is from a holocaust family and learned the right attitudes about survival.
..
Maybe it’s Bogie’s work here:
Actions speak the loudest and clearest. Israel is trying to destroy the Hamas leadership.
yamit82 Said:
Well…if it were not for PM Ariel Sharon’s “irresponsible” surrender of Gaza to The Terrorists(if I knew Hamas would take the strip, in fact I warned Uzi Landau of just that not long after the Knesset voted to approve the Gaza Withdrawal, then Sharon knew, yet he pushed the initiative through anyway.)
In any case, I agree Netanyahu appears finished. I doubt the electorate will approve of new elections at this stage, UNLESS, they are furious with Netanyahu’s procrastination.
What is unknown are the understandings reached with Egypt Saudi Arabia, PA and USA, not to mention EU. There are no leaks that I am aware of. Bibi is monitoring cabinet level leaks like a crazy man. If Bibi was blowing it, I believe you would see MK Benet making much more noise up to and including resignation. So, I would think, there is a plan in place and the clock is running down, tick…tick…The Israelis are going to give Bibi quite a bit of leeway, however, many will make their displeasure known. I hope more of them do.
Oh, by the way Uzi landau agreed with me but stated he had no idea how to stop the withdrawal from being implemented.
CTV just reported on new Hamas rocket attacks (quite a lot in a short time) , re-opening of Israeli bomb shelters, Hamas threatening Israeli airports.
CTV report ended with a humourous joke. They said with all this increased activity? there could be an increase in the violence.
I guess it doesn’t count until Hamas gets some Gazan babies killed.
Come’on Bibi – stop playing whack a mole – whack ’em all.
@ yamit82:
Hi Yamit,
Hope you and your family are doing well.
I fully agree with you and hope you’re right. Incredibly, most polls I see suggest that most israelis are HAPPY with BB’s performance!!!!!
I’ve never been so pessimistic about Israel’s future. Even Feiglin can’t cheer me up these days!
BB is finished and so is his flunky Ya’alon. He will not survive politically once this campaign is concluded. He is back to square one of ‘quiet for quiet’.