 | « Back to article | Print this article |
Taking a tough line, Israel has indicated that it will continue to ignore the UN Security Council resolution seeking ceasefire in Gaza, until it has achieved its objectives of weakening Hamas and stopping the smuggling of arms in the region from Egypt.
"I don't like the term 'ceasefire' since it looks like an agreement between two legitimate sides," Israeli foreign minister Tzipi Livni said, adding that it is not a conflict between two states but a fight against terror.
"We will continue to fight terrorism," she told Newsweek in an interview being published in the upcoming issue.
The Palestinians, she said, need to understand that Israel can share and implement the vision of 'two states for two peoples' with those who accept Israel's existence and renounce violence and terrorism.
"Hamas does not. The only way to continue the peace process is not only by continuing the dialogue with their pragmatic leadership, but also by weakening those who are not willing to live in peace in this region. This is the strategy," she added.
She said that international pressure to reach a ceasefire strengthens the hand of Hamas, which rules Gaza, and asserted that Israel is not going to show any restraint.
"We are going to attack strongly if they continue. We are not going to wait years or months," Livni said.
Asked if Egypt will now take more active role in stopping the smuggling of arms, she said this must be stopped by Israel or "someone else".
Pointing out that in six months, Hamas has changed the range of its missiles from 20 kilometres to 50 kilometres, she said, "This now threatens one million Israelis."
Israel maintains that Hamas has been getting arms smuggled from Egypt by underground tunnels which are among the targets that it is now trying to destroy.
"We need to know that at the end of this military operation, we will not face rearmament of Hamas," she asserted.
Asked if she sees the role of Iran behind the actions of Hamas, she replied in the affirmative.
"Oh, yes, clearly. When Hamas started, the missiles were made in the Gaza Strip. Now they are professional, coming from Iran," she said.
Declining to comment on how long the current military operation in Gaza will last, Livni said, "We need to find out whether they understand that Israel is no longer a state they can target. Israel is going to defend itself."
Asked if Israel has achieved its objectives through the military offensive that has killed over 900 Palestinians, she said some goals had been achieved. "Right now, I think they understand that the equation has changed."
But she said the idea is not to reoccupy Gaza.
Admitting that it was a difficult decision to send Israeli troops into Gaza, she said, "But now it looks good."
Asked if she is worried that Hamas will claim victory as Hassan Nasrallah (leader of the Hizbollah) did in Lebanon, post the Israeli attack, Livni said, "They are (hiding) underground, taken by surprise, asking the Hizbollah to do something, nobody (has) helped them."
On whether Israel hoped that the incoming Obama administration would continue with the policy of supporting the country, she said she believed the two countries share not only the same values and interests, but also the same understanding.
"We are not looking to reoccupy Gaza and we do not want to control the Palestinians, but we have a situation in which Hamas is getting stronger, while Abu Mazen (Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas) is getting weaker," Livni said.
She said the Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip is a burden not only on Israel but the Palestinians themselves.
"It represents the kind of radical element that threatens other pragmatic regimes in the region," Livni said.
Insisting that the conflict in West Asia is no longer an Arab-Jewish affair, Livni said Israel also has the backing of Arab moderates.
"But I know I represent their interests as well. It is no longer the Israeli-Palestinian or the Jewish-Arab conflict, but it is a conflict between moderates and extremists. This is the way this region is now divided," she added.