(i24News) Laura Cellier - Israel's former foreign minister and current Minister of Energy Eli Cohen highlighted the necessity of Israeli military operations in Gaza in an interview on Monday. "The main thing we need to do right now is to completely destroy Hamas's military and governmental capabilities." Responding to criticism that Israel is not discussing its post-war plan for Gaza, Cohen noted, "When they set out to finish off the Nazis in Germany, nobody thought about what would come after them." "The State of Israel has the intention to have security control over Gaza, but it has no intention to be involved in any kind of civilian control over Gaza." He suggested that international elements would handle civilian activities in Gaza during an interim period. "Our primary focus remains on eliminating the immediate threat posed by Hamas and ensuring the security of Israeli citizens....We in Israel cannot continue to live here with these despicable murderers living next to us. Therefore, we will not agree to stop the war and we are going to continue to act against Hamas until we find the very last one of them." "We are saying very clearly we will not agree to the establishment of a Palestinian state here. There are 22 Arab countries but there's only one country which is the homeland of the Jews and that is the State of Israel. We gave Gaza to the Palestinians until the very last inch. Over the past 18 years there was not one Israeli in Gaza and they're the ones who chose to commit that crime [Oct. 7]." Cohen emphasized the importance of creating a security buffer between Israel and Gaza to protect Israeli civilians. The Israelis living in the communities near Gaza "are the ones who wanted peace the most, and the Palestinians used to work in these kibbutzim and moshavim, and the Palestinians entered their homes and massacred them."
2024-05-28 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive