Netanyahu: No ceasefire unless incendiary attacks stop

Benjamin Netanyahu  photo: Eyal Izhar
Benjamin Netanyahu photo: Eyal Izhar

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Israel had dealt Hamas the harshest blow since Operation Protective Edge in 2014.

At the opening of the weekly government meeting this morning, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that he had spoken to US President Donald Trump in advance of the latter's meeting in Helsinki with Russian President Vladimir Putin. "We discussed security and diplomatic issues in light of developments in the region, with Syria and Iran first and foremost, of course," Netanyahu said. He did not say whether Israel's military action in the Gaza Strip at the weekend had been mentioned.

On developments in the south, Netanyahu said, "I heard it being said that Israel has agreed to a ceasefire that would allow the continuation of terrorism by incendiary kites and balloons; this is incorrect. We are not prepared to accept any attacks against us and we will respond appropriately.

"Over the Sabbath we hit Hamas in a significant way and hard. Our policy is clear: Whoever hurts us, we will hit them with great strength. This is what we did yesterday. The IDF dealt Hamas the harshest blow since Operation Protective Edge. I hope that they got the message; if not, they will get it later."

Before the start of the government meeting, Minister of Education Naftali Bennett announced that he and the Habayit Hayehudi party's other minister, Minister of Justice Ayelet Shaked, would not support a ceasefire without a halt to the incendiary attacks. "That would be surrender," Bennett said.

Minister of Defense Avigdor Liberman issued a short statement before the meeting, in which he said, "It is important to stress that there is no intention of accepting rockets, kites or anything else. All in all, Hamas has sustained a severe blow, attack tunnels have been destroyed, armaments production and storage facilities have been destroyed. As far as Israel is concerned, 90% of the rockets fell on open ground, or the Iron Dome system managed to intercept them. Nevertheless, the rockets that did hit, and the sirens and people running to shelters or protected rooms - that too is not a reasonable situation and we do not intend to come to terms with it. I hope that Hamas draws conclusions, and if they do not, they will have to pay a heavy price."

The security cabinet is due to convene today to discuss further measures.

The last report of fire from the Gaza Strip at Israel was at 2 am this morning.

Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on July 15, 2018

© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd. 2018

Benjamin Netanyahu  photo: Eyal Izhar
Benjamin Netanyahu photo: Eyal Izhar
Twitter Facebook Linkedin RSS Newsletters גלובס Israel Business Conference 2018