By Stan Goodenough
Jun 19, 2008
Israeli Opposition leader, Likud Chairman Benjamin Netanyahu sounded spitting mad Thursday at the Olmert government's agreeing to a ceasefire with the Gaza-controlling Hamas terrorist organization.
The terrorists got a period of quiet in which to regroup and rearm in readiness for the next round of terrorist attacks, he said. In exchange, Israel "got nothing."
"I would like to know, what did we achieve here exactly? Hamas will not stop rearming – [Hamas politburo chief] Khaled Mashaal said they wouldn't and the defense establishment already said the truce will be fragile.
"We didn't get [kidnapped IDF soldier] Gilad [Schalit] back. We got nothing. The government is allowing Hamas to go about rearming before the next round of terror attacks," said "Bibi," as Netanyahu is popularly known.
Asked by Ynetnews why he thought the government had agreed to the truce, Netanyahu said it was because it lacked leadership.
"The government agreed because it has a policy of weakness. It promotes passiveness and the lack of action characteristic of many of the governments in Israeli history. This is evident of a lack of leadership.
Israel has exercised more forces for lesser things. I don't think this is a matter of different political views – this is a matter of impotence... the prime minister and the defense minister are blaming each other for putting politics first. This is an incompetent government faced with a clear security threat and doing absolutely nothing about it," he said.
Netanyahu stressed that it was precisely because Israel wants "the children of Sderot to sleep peacefully for many years to come" that there is no choice but to act.
"We have to stop being passive and work towards toppling Hamas' rule. Israel cannot afford to have an Iranian enclave, which has no intention of recognizing our right to exist."
"In the next conflict," Netanyahu added, "we will find ourselves facing deadlier weapons and we'll pay a heavier price. We have to have faith in our own military strength and we have to utilize it to bring Hamas down. Anything else is escapism."