Netanyahu: ‘No cease-fire without stopping arson terror’

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu visited the city of Sderot Monday morning, where he met with the local heads of municipal authorities in the Gaza Belt.

“I just concluded an excellent meeting with the heads of the Gaza Belt councils, where I told them that we are in an ongoing struggle,” Netanyahu said. “Just as we are completing the blocking of the tunnels, and just as we were successful in stopping the mass storming of the fence, we’ve guided the IDF to stop the terror caused by Molotov kites and fire balloons, and we are in the midst of the process.”

Netanyahu stressed that it is important that Hamas “understand that it is standing in front of a steel wall, and that wall consists of a determined government, resilient local leadership and Zionist settlement which we will continue to strengthen, and of course, the IDF.”

“For a hundred years we’ve been fighting terror. Right now, this place is the friction line between Islamic terrorism and the Jewish state, and we are determined to win. That involves exchanging blows, and it is not over yet,” Netanyahu continued.

In recent weeks, the IDF has refrained from directly engaging cells launching incendiary kites and balloons operatives in Gaza, usually opting for destroying kite caches and firing warning shots near the operatives.

Responding to criticism that the government is tolerating the arson terror rather than eradicating it, Netanyahu said: “We did tell the IDF to put a stop to [the arson terror]… I said it yesterday in the clearest fashion, and its important that people listen to me, especially on the other side, there is no such thing as a cease-fire that does not include the molotov kites and fire balloons, there’s no such thing. As far as we are concerned, it does not exist and we are in the midst of a maneuver.I will say it a seventh time in the hope that it will resonate, but if it is not understood by our words, it will be understood by the IDF’s actions.”