Netanyahu goes on the attack

Olmert defends himself before the Knesset on Winograd findings.

Netanyahu Responds
Former Prime Minister and Opposition Chief Binyamin Netanyahu took the podium following PM Olmert, saying that although he agreed with the decision to go to war, the way which it was carried out eroded Israel’s deterrence.

“[The Opposition] offered the government its full support to achieve the [stated] goals, but [the government] failed to do so,” Netanyahu said, citing the failure to disarm Hizbullah and return the captives as two examples. “In my opinion, the greatest failure is that as a result of the war, Israel’s deterrent capability has been severely harmed.”

One Front Has Become Three
Netanyahu outlined the security situation today, tying it to the war’s results. “During the war we faced one front, now we face three fronts,” he said. “In Lebanon, Hizbullah has increased the weaponry it had before the war. In Gaza, there has been a change since the war transforming it into a second Lebanon – including tunnels and bunkers. The Philadelphi Corridor has become an expressway of weapons smuggling.” Netanyahu also said war with Syria is much more likely due to Israel’s loss of deterrence.

Withdrawal Policies Led Here
Netanyahu rejected the government’s attempt to blame many of the failures on the IDF. “The loss of deterrence is not the army’s problem, but first and foremost due to the weakness of the government’s policies,” he said, going on to blame all the prime minister’s who succeeded his term. “It started with [Ehud Barak’s] unilateral withdrawal from Lebanon and the creation of an armed Iranian enclave, the Winograd report addresses this, and then continued with [Ariel Sharon’s] unilateral withdrawal from Gaza.

“Before the Disengagement, intelligence estimated that over the course of a single year, one ton of explosives was smuggled into Gaza from Sinai. Two months after the Disengagement, that grew to six tons and the current estimate sets the amount of explosives brought into Gaza during 2006 at 30 tons.”

The Government is the Problem
Addressing Olmert’s statements that the current government should be tasked with fixing the mistakes, Netanyahu said: “You say you can fix it? How can you fix it when you are the malfunction? Now you will use judgment? Now you have acquired the vast knowledge that you lacked? Now you will demonstrate the necessary care? What have you done in the past year? What have you done to stop the massive flow of arms to Hizbullah and Gaza? What have you done to reinforce [homes] in the Galilee? What have you done to provide Sderot with shelters? This was a wasted year. You did not learn any lessons because you are the lesson that must be learned.”

Netanyahu raised his voice and said that the Winograd Committee’s entire report can be summarized in one statement: “The Government of Israel is shell shocked – and every day that passes with this government reduces Israel’s deterrent capability and endangers its security. This government must go to the people. This government must go!”