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Netanyahu: "Iran's Nuclear Ambitions Are a Threat to the Entire World"

[CNN] Interview with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu by Wolf Blitzer - "Iran's ambition to acquire or develop nuclear weapons is a threat, not only to Israel, but to the entire world. Remember, this is the country that sponsored terrorism worldwide. And imagine what would happen if these terrorists had a patron that gave them a nuclear umbrella, or, worse, actually gave them the nuclear weapon. I think that these are catastrophic consequences. And it's the interest of the entire international community to make sure this doesn't happen." "Iran has to be pressed strongly. There are ways of pressing this regime right now, because it's weak. It's weaker than people think. It doesn't enjoy the support of its own people." "The state of U.S.-Israeli relations is very good, indeed. I was very pleased with the meeting hosted by President Obama today. For months, I have been calling for such a meeting, to put aside all these preconditions, and get on with the business of talking about peace." "I hope to make peace. Any time we have encountered an Arab leader who wanted to make peace, we made peace....If Mr. Abbas, the leader of the Palestinian Authority, genuinely steps forward and says, we recognize the State of Israel, we're willing to make peace with the Jewish state, just that, the Jewish state, and it will be a peace of recognition and security, then my government will make peace. I'm no exception, because the people of Israel want peace." As to the question of settlements, I think that raising this condition, something that hasn't happened in 15 years of Israeli-Palestinian dialogue - nobody put this precondition - this is just costing us a great deal of time. The issue of settlements has to be discussed at the end or in the context within these negotiations, not before." Q: The UN report says that you overreacted in Gaza. Netanyahu: "We overreacted, did we? Well, let me tell you, after a million or so of our people were under rocket fire, progressively larger and larger circles of rockets falling on our cities, we did what every reasonable country would do. We tried to get at the rocketeers....The Hamas actually was committing a double war crime, firing on civilians while hiding behind civilians....So, the terrorists are exonerated. The victims are accused." "The international community says, if you take risks for peace, we will support your right of self-defense. And yet we did just that. We vacated Gaza in the hopes that this would advance peace. And when we're rocketed with thousands of rockets and missiles from the places we vacated, people say Israel is the war criminal."
2009-09-23 08:00:00
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