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Defense Minister: Israel Can't Rely on Palestinian Authority for Security

(Ha'aretz) Amos Harel - Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon told the Institute for National Security Studies on Tuesday that, from a security standpoint, the Palestinian Authority is not a responsible neighbor on which Israel can rely. He noted that last year the PA arrested more than 1,000 people associated with Hamas in the West Bank, but none were ever brought to trial. Regarding Iran, he said, "History will judge the interim agreement with Iran. We contend that it is a historic missed opportunity." "The agreement left Iran with the independent capacity to enrich uranium to a level of 3.5%. That's at the core of the retention of a nuclear military option. They can develop centrifuges - to replace them. No one has stopped the development process for missiles with a 10,000-km. range [or] their aiding terror in Afghanistan, Syria, Lebanon and in the Palestinian arena." "They have already been freed of the international and economic pressure. As far as what we anticipate, the Iranians will exploit the next three years to solidify at the nuclear threshold in a way that will position them in a breakout position when they've decided to become a nuclear state. Their strategic aspirations have not changed: Export of the [Iranian Islamic] revolution and regional hegemony based on diplomatic subversion, terrorism and, in the future, perhaps also a nuclear umbrella....One way or another, it must be stopped."
2014-01-29 00:00:00
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