PM Netanyahu and German FM Heiko Maas. Photo courtesy of Amos Ben-Gershom (GPO)
Against the backdrop of months of attacks of various types from Gaza, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu last week issued another round of warnings to the terrorists in the Gaza Strip—this time in comments with Germany’s Foreign Minister, Heiko Maas. A recap of the meeting issued by Netanyahu’s office said the Israeli leader “made it clear that Israel would take strong action against Gaza for every action against Israel and the residents of the south.”
Germany is one of the top six most powerful nations in the world in the diplomatic arena, and should Israel need to launch military strikes in Gaza, they may need political support on the global stage. The same day as Netanyahu’s warning, thousands of Gazans rioted against Israel and worse.
“A mob of approx 20K Gazans are burning tires, throwing bombs and grenades, and attempting to break through the border fence with Israel, which 10 armed terrorists did, until we stopped them. In response, an IDF aircraft carried out two strikes in Gaza,” the IDF Spokesperson posted to Twitter last Friday.
Netanyahu had Gaza on the mind during last week’s visit from top German leaders. In addition to the comments with Foreign Minister Heiko Maas, Netanyahu told German Chancellor Angela Merkel that if Hamas thinks that it can attack Israel, “it will be making a very major mistake. Our response will be harsh, very harsh.”
Netanyahu, whose comments were published by his office, also highlighted that Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas is making things worse for the Gazans.
Netanyahu said Abbas “has made the situation in Gaza more difficult by choking off the flow of funds from the Palestinian Authority to Gaza. As a result of this chokehold, pressures have been created there and as a result of the pressures, from time to time Hamas attacks Israel at a relatively low intensity but the chokehold is tightening.”
Netanyahu went on to say that Abbas has even “interfered in all UN attempts to ease the plight in Gaza,” leading to international condemnation.
The challenging situation in Gaza is not an excuse for Hamas to attack Israel, warned Netanyahu. Said the Israeli leader, “I hope that it is possible to halt this strangulation but I also reiterate that Israel will act with all necessary strength to defend itself and its citizens.”
(By Joshua Spurlock, www.themideastupdate.com, October 6, 2018)