JERUSALEM – Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was interviewed yesterday (Jul. 13) on CBS’s ‘Face the Nation’ and Fox News’ ‘Sunday‘. Netanyahu’s primary objective was to strengthen the legitimacy of Operation ‘Protective Edge’ in the international realm. He stressed the difference between the IDF’s actions and Hamas’ targeting of civilians, while using their own civilians as shields and their homes as centers for terror.
“Here’s a difference between us. We’re using missile defense to protect our civilians and they’re using their civilians to protect their missiles. That’s basically the difference. They’re embedding these rockets that they’re firing wholesale into our cities, terrorist rocketing, trying to kill as many as they can,” said Netanyahu. ”
“They’re not succeeding because of two reasons. One is because we’ve developed this incredible missile defense system, which I think is a stark development in the history of defensive warfare, with US help and I want to thank the American people, President Obama, the US Congress, for helping us fund this amazing development. But the other reason we’re succeeding – you have to understand some of the rockets do pierce through this shield and the reason we’re succeeding is also because we’re targeting the terrorists. The terrorists are firing from homes. These homes are actually command posts of the Hamas and Islamic Jihad army. That’s where they have their secure communications, weapon caches, rockets hidden, maps rooms and so on. These are their command posts. Obviously, we’re not going to give them immunity and so we have to attack them and we try to minimize as we can civilian casualties.”
A rocket attack occurred during the interview itself. “We’ve just received now a quiet alert as we’re giving this interview… what you’re hearing right now is the calm alert. In other words, when we began this interview, we were under bomb alert and as the minutes passed, now we are being told that people can go out into the open air again. This is the kind of reality we’re living in, and we’ll do – as I said – whatever is necessary to put an end to this.”
Netanyahu tied the front in Gaza with the ongoing talks between the West and Iran on their nuclear development project. “This is the same Iran that is arming, financing, training Hamas and Islamic Jihad; this is the preeminent terrorist empire of our time. Not even a terrorist state; it’s a terrorist empire. It’s got these terror provinces. You don’t want this Iran to have neither nuclear weapons nor the capability to make nuclear weapons, to enrich uranium for a nuclear bomb in short order, in a few weeks or a few months. They could do that unless that’s changed.” Netanyahu strongly rejected any possible compromise with Iran on the nuclear subject.
By Aryeh Savir
Tazpit News Agency