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We Will Never Apologize for Defending Ourselves

(Prime Minister's Office) Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu - Prime Minister Netanyahu said Wednesday in a televised address: Last year, Israel acted to stop Hamas from firing thousands of rockets into Israel's towns and cities. Hamas was firing on our civilians while hiding behind civilians. And Israel went to unprecedented lengths to avoid Palestinian civilian casualties. Yet it was Israel, and not Hamas, that was accused by the UN of war crimes. Now regrettably, the same thing appears to be happening. Hamas is smuggling thousands of Iranian rockets, missiles and other weaponry - smuggling it into Gaza in order to fire on Israel's cities....Under international law, and under common sense and common decency, Israel has every right to interdict this weaponry and to inspect the ships that might be transporting them. This is not a theoretical challenge or a theoretical threat. We have already interdicted vessels bound for Hizbullah, and for Hamas from Iran, containing hundreds of tons of weapons....Israel simply cannot permit the free flow of weapons and war materials to Hamas from the sea. Israel cannot permit Iran to establish a Mediterranean port a few dozen kilometers from Tel Aviv and from Jerusalem....The international community cannot afford an Iranian port in the Mediterranean. Here's our policy. It's very simple: Humanitarian and other goods can go in and weapons and war materiel cannot. We will never apologize for defending ourselves. Israel has every right to prevent deadly weapons from entering into hostile territory. And Israeli soldiers have every right to defend their lives and their country....The Jewish state has a right to defend itself just like any other state.
2010-06-03 09:46:13
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