Netanyahu: First we’ll win in the south, then we’ll deal with the north

“First of all we will win in the south and then we will deal with the north. As a first step, we will push Hezbollah beyond the Litani River and later we will also have to take care of the organization itself. If we open two fronts we can find ourselves not winning decisively in either of them,” Netanyahu stated.

He also explained that Israel must bring humanitarian aid to Gaza so that the military operation against Hamas can continue. “If there is a humanitarian collapse in Gaza – I will not be able to manage this campaign,” he said.

He also referred to the role the US has played and the attempts to pressure Israel to take the war in specific directions. “We are exerting counterpressure back in the US and in the relationship with the administration also through prime time interviews. There it’s not like it is in the studios here, they let you talk.”

In his opinion, the Palestinian Authority cannot in any way be considered to be a solution for Gaza the day after the war. “Oslo was the mother of all sins. The difference between Hamas and the Palestinian Authority is only that Hamas wants to destroy us here and now and the PA wants to do it in stages. We cooperate with them against Hamas when it serves their interest and ours up to a certain limit. We decided a few months ago that we don’t want them to collapse so that Hamas does not rise up in Judea and Samaria as well.”

Netanyahu stated that the State of Israel will have sole responsibility for security in Gaza the day after the war. “Only the State of Israel will be responsible for the demilitarization of the Strip. The Gulf countries will invest in reconstruction and we will have to build an entity that does not want to destroy us, that will manage the civil administration there. We will allow anyone who wants to go out to do so. Today, Hamas does not allow this.”