Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Monday
that there would be no solution to the situation in the Gaza Strip
without the demilitarization of the Hamas-ruled coastal enclave.
Speaking at the Kirya Defense Ministry
Headquarters in Tel Aviv, Netanyahu said, "The operation against the
tunnels is a first and necessary step in the demilitarization of the
Gaza Strip. The process of preventing the arming of the terrorist
organization and demilitarizing the Gaza Strip must be part of any
solution.
"The international community needs to demand
this explicitly. Instead of the international community allowing funds
to enter the Gaza Strip, via Hamas, for concrete and cement to serve in
the unlimited construction of tunnels, there must be monitoring and
supervision. In the past, when we raised these demands and these
concerns of ours, we were not taken seriously. This has to change. It
cannot be that citizens of the State of Israel will live under the
deadly threats of missiles and infiltration through tunnels -- death
from above and death from below."
Netanyahu expressed his condolences to the
families of the 10 Israeli soldiers killed on Monday. "They have fallen
in defense of the nation and we all mourn their passing," Netanyahu
said. "There is no more just war than this one that our heroic sons are
fighting.
"We knew that there would be difficult days;
this has been a difficult and painful day. Patience and determination
are needed in order to continue the struggle against a murderous
terrorist organization that aspires to our destruction."
Netanyahu said the military operation in Gaza
would not be completed without the destruction of the tunnels Hamas has
built under the Gaza border. He said the sole purpose of these tunnels
is to kill Israeli civilians.
"Hamas has violated every cease-fire
proposal," Netanyahu said. "We face a cruel enemy whose brutality is
directed not only against us, against our civilians, but is also
directed against its own civilians. It exploits its civilians in order
for there to be more and more victims, even as they send fire and death
toward us."
Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon said Israel
would not hesitate to expand the military operation and harshen the blow
to Hamas. He expressed regret for civilian casualties in Gaza and
blamed Hamas for intentionally sacrificing Gaza residents.
IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Benny Gantz said
the Israel Defense Forces is a moral army with no interest in harming
innocent civilians. He called on Gazans to distance themselves from
areas where Hamas is operating.
Meanwhile, there is continued international
pressure for a cease-fire, or at least a humanitarian truce. On Monday,
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas met with Saudi King
Abdullah in Jeddah and the two leaders discussed efforts to achieve a
cease-fire in Gaza. After the meeting, Abbas said cease-fire efforts
were "moving in a positive direction." A senior Abbas aide said that,
within the framework of a plan formulated by Abbas, representatives of
Israel, Hamas and Islamic Jihad would arrive in Cairo for indirect
talks. Gaza terror groups have insisted that there would be no
cease-fire without a lifting of the blockade on Gaza and a full
withdrawal of Israeli troops.
The fallout from U.S. Secretary of State John
Kerry's failed cease-fire bid last week continued to reverberate on
Monday. Obama administration officials told The Associated Press that
Israeli criticism of Kerry could put U.S.-Israel ties in jeopardy. The
officials said the personal attacks on Kerry crossed a line and were
particularly disappointing at a time of active conflict.
Kerry himself talked about the Gaza situation
on Monday, but did not directly refer to the widespread criticism he has
received.
"Any process to resolve the crisis in Gaza in a
lasting and meaningful way must lead to the disarmament of Hamas and
all terrorist groups," Kerry said.
U.S. State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki on
Monday referred to criticism of Kerry. "There’s a lot of information
that is inaccurate about what our efforts were about, what they were
focused on," Psaki said of Israeli media reports on Kerry's cease-fire
efforts. Psaki said anonymous media leaks were "simply not the way that
partners and allies treat each other."
Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Ron Dermer
defended Kerry on Monday, in an apparent attempt to squelch burgeoning
tensions with the U.S. government.
"The criticism of Secretary Kerry for his good
faith efforts to advance a sustainable cease-fire is unwarranted,"
Dermer said at a gathering of Jewish leaders in Washington.
"I speak directly for my prime minister here," Dermer said.
Meanwhile, the speaker of the U.S. House of
Representatives, Republican John Boehner, said on Monday that support
for Israel, not peace mediation, must be America's main focus, in a
subtle jab at the Obama administration.
"At times like this, people try to isolate
Israel -- but we are here to stand with Israel," Boehner said. "Not just
as a broker or observer -- but as a strong partner and a trusted ally."
Boehner defined that support: "Well, it
doesn't mean issuing vague, on-the-one-hand, on-the-other-hand
statements. No, it means backing up our words, and showing solidarity
with our friend."
Boehner said the House of Representatives would always support Israel's right to defend itself.
"We will not equate professional militaries
with terrorist organizations that use human shields and seek to maximize
civilian casualties," Boehner said. "And we insist that the
demilitarization of Gaza be not just a House goal but a shared,
uncompromising U.S. and international objective."
Boehner expressed support for continued U.S.
money for the Iron Dome aerial defense system that Israel uses to
intercept rockets and mortars fired by Gaza terrorists.
U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel has asked
Congress to provide $225 million for the Iron Dome program in the
current budget year, but the money is linked to the divisive border
security package and lawmakers may not act before their August recess.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, a
Republican, suggested last week that the Iron Dome money be considered
separately. In a rare bit of unanimity, Majority Leader Harry Reid, a
Democrat, signaled that he was open to such a step. Reid also said that
the $225 million might not be enough.
"After weeks of fighting, Israel needs these funds to
replace the weaponry used to destroy Hamas' incoming rockets but there
is no guarantee Israel won't need our help again," Reid said in a speech
on the Senate floor.
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