Netanyahu in cabinet meeting: Only Israel’s security guides me

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he is “unimpressed” by the “various experts” who are criticizing his Gaza policies, saying at Sunday’s cabinet meeting that he understands full well the distress facing the communities targeted by inflammable balloons.

Many of the critics, he said, were giving advice that they did not implement themselves when they were in a position to do so, an apparent reference to Blue and White Party’s Benny Gantz and Moshe Ya’alon.

These critics, he said would be the first to “criticize us if we embarked on a wide military campaign, something which we may be forced to do. Only one thing guides me — the security of the State of Israel.”

Netanyahu said the government was working to relieve the distress of the communities around the Gaza border, and last week imposed “heavy sanctions on Hamas, including stopping fuel supplies.”

“If we need to, we will use much more difficult means,” he said. “We are taking these steps after consulting with all the security forces.”

Netanyahu also addressed last week’s US-sponsored “Peace to Prosperity” conference in Bahrain, characterizing as “significant”  Bahrain Foreign Minister Sheikh Khalid bin Ahmed al-Khalifa’s  words to Israeli journalists last week in Manama that “Israel is a state in the Middle East and part of it’s heritage.”

“This is a very important statement – it is a direct result of our policy that makes Israel a powerful force in the region and a rising world power,” he said.

Netanyahu said that while Israel is gradually normalizing ties with the Arab states, and while Israel welcomed the Bahrain conference which was aimed at improving life for the Palestinians, the Palestinians “attacked the conference with great fury and against their own interests.”

Referring to the arrest – and later release under US pressure of a Palestinian businessman who took part in the parley – Netanyahu said “one thing is clear – the  Palestinians are determined to continue the conflict an any price, including at the cost of the well being of the Palestinians themselves. That is not the way people act who want to promote peace.”

On the other hand, he said, “we continue to promote ties with the Arab world, including today, and this serves everyone.”