“The root cause of the violence that burst from Gaza is not Israel’s occupation in Gaza, for a simple reason: Israel doesn’t occupy Gaza.”
The goal of Hamas to destroy the Jewish state was the sole reason for the summer war between Israel and the terrorist regime in Gaza, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in Jerusalem on Monday.
The Israeli leader stressed that there is “no Israeli occupation of Gaza,” reminding the UN chief that Israel had left Gaza in 2005.
Hamas Rockets are ‘Root Cause’ of Violence
Netanyahu was apparently responding to Ban’s remarks a day earlier in Cairo at an International Donors Conference for Rebuilding Gaza.
“We must not lose sight of the root causes of the recent hostilities: A restrictive occupation that has lasted almost half a century, the continued denial of Palestinian rights and the lack of tangible progress in peace negotiations,” Ban had stated.
“The root cause of the violence that burst from Gaza is not Israel’s occupation in Gaza, for a simple reason: Israel doesn’t occupy Gaza,” Netanyahu declared. “Israel left Gaza to the very last centimeter, to the very last inch. We uprooted all the settlements and vacated all the settlers.”
“The root cause of this summer’s outburst of violence was Hamas’ rocketing of Israeli cities, and these rocket attacks often exploited UN neutrality, using UN facilities and UN schools as part of the Hamas machine of terror,” the PM continued.
UN Officials Handed Weapons to Terrorists, PM States
He also slammed the UN for handing rockets found in UN-administered schools back into Hamas’ hands.
“And when rockets were discovered inside UN schools, some UN officials handed them back to Hamas – that very same Hamas that was rocketing Israeli cities and Israeli civilians,” Netanyahu declared.
Hamas Opposed to Israel’s Very Existence
“The root cause of Hamas’ rocket fire on Israel is Hamas’ opposition to Israel’s very existence,” Netanyahu stated. “Hamas doesn’t give a hoot for the 1967 lines. For them, Israel has no right to live, in any borders. Hamas rejects our very existence. They’re committed to killing every Israeli and every Jew. You just have to read their charter – they say that very plainly.”
Hamas is a threat not only to the Jewish State, but to all peaceful, freedom-loving nations, he said. “Hamas is the enemy of all of us who seek peace. And a real peace can only be achieved through bilateral negotiations with those who believe in peace.”
PA Unilateral Steps at UN Destroy Peace Efforts
Regarding the unilateral steps promoted by the Palestinian Authority at the UN, such action “will not advance peace,” Netanyahu asserted. “I think they’ll do the very opposite. They’ll bring about a further deterioration in the situation – something none of us want.”
Discussing the escalation of violence on the Temple Mount, Netanyahu clarified that Israel is committed to “maintaining the status quo exactly as it’s been for many decades.”
He blamed the increasingly volatile situation on “Palestinian extremists who are instigating violence through incitement. The incitement is spread by false and baseless rumors that we are threatening the Muslim holy places.”
“Nothing could be further from the truth,” he said, reiterating Israel’s commitment to “the protection of the holy sites [and] the right of all religions to worship in their holy places.”
Author: United with Israel Staff
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