After 50 days of Operation Protective Edge and 3 days of ceasefire, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gave a detailed interview about the operation and its implications.
In an interview with Dana Weiss and Udi Segal on Channel 2, Netanyahu elaborated on the conduct of the operation, decision-making, political initiative, the economic cost, and how it was possible without the question of elections.
The long-term ceasefire is holding for now, but as we recall, Netanyahu and Ya'alon decided on it alone, without the approval of the cabinet. "I was authorized to make the decision on the ceasefire." Netanyahu explains the move, and adds, "Secretly, some ministers are glad that I didn't bring it to a vote." According to him, Hamas did not accept any of his demands, such as the establishment of a port and the lifting of the siege. "I made the decision with the Minister of Defense and the Chief of Staff," Netanyahu added.
In general, throughout the entire operation, Netanyahu worked in full and close cooperation with Defense Minister Moshe (Bogi) Ya'alon, but with almost no cooperation with cabinet ministers. "There were some disagreements, I don't hide it," says Netanyahu. "There is a misunderstanding among some ministers about collective responsibility. From the moment the decision is made in the room, everyone is obligated to back it up.".
Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman has regularly attacked Netanyahu's decisions, claiming that it is forbidden to reach an arrangement with Hamas. "I think that, by and large, even though there were disagreements, there was joint work, and the public doesn't know everything," says Netanyahu.
Regarding claims by the heads of authorities in the south about neglecting their security, Netanyahu said, "This week I met with dozens of heads of authorities in Beersheba, who expressed confidence in us.".
When asked if there would be elections soon, Netanyahu responded with the question, "At this time, does Israel need elections now?" He added, "It is desirable that the operation does not bring the elections closer, as far as it depends on me, there will be no elections.".
Netanyahu is confronted with his statements against Olmert and Tzipi Livni during Operation Cast Lead, when he said that as prime minister he would overthrow the Hamas government, "I have not abandoned the goal of overthrowing Hamas, and we may get there. But in the face of all the threats on other fronts, the goal was to deal a hard blow to Hamas, and not invest all resources in one arena.".
Netanyahu added, "As soon as we were done with the tunnels, we withdrew the IDF, in order to prevent the kidnapping or killing of soldiers.".
Netanyahu was asked about the disengagement plan, and claimed that the seizure of territory by radical Islam was a "huge problem." Despite voting in the Knesset in favor of disengagement on all calls, Netanyahu continued to claim that as soon as the plan was approved, he resigned from the government.
And what about peace? According to Netanyahu, there are countries around us that understand today that the threats to us are also to them and see us as a partner and not an enemy, and we need to examine whether it is possible to exploit the opportunities together with them.
Regarding Abbas, Netanyahu repeated his words, "Abbas has to choose between peace and Hamas." Netanyahu added, "We don't have a problem with the Palestinian Authority entering Gaza, we have a problem with Hamas entering Judea and Samaria.".
During the operation, former ministers and senior figures in the defense establishment claimed that Netanyahu was acting hesitantly. "I made decisions on how to conduct the operation," Netanyahu dismissed the criticism. "We decided to crush Hamas, and not agree to a ceasefire with conditions, and we stuck to it despite all the background noise. We acted decisively and not in a vegetarian way, and the people in Hamas understand this.".
When the interviewers commented that Netanyahu's words sounded like Arik Sharon's famous words, "What you see from here you don't see from there," Netanyahu claimed that "I have seen things I see from here before. I have not changed my opinion about the Middle East. It has changed, most of it for the worse and some for the better.".
And on the question of money, the fighting in Gaza cost billions, and the struggle over the defense budget in particular and the 2015 budget in general has begun. "The defense budget needs to be increased, clearly and unequivocally," Netanyahu declares.
And what about taxes? "I'm not saying anything. I will take care of security, and that also includes an economy that will collapse, and we need to find the balance.".
In conclusion, the Prime Minister says that Hamas was very surprised during the operation, "They were surprised by the strength of the response, they didn't expect such a bang.".
""The second surprise is the resilience of the people of Israel. They expected spider webs, and got an Iron Dome and an iron people.".
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