Justice minister asks northern residents to ‘bite their lips in upcoming period. It will be a hard time but we must go to war against Hizbullah which threatens Israel’s security.’ VP Peres, Eli Yishai aiding communities in north
Justice Minister Haim Ramon said Thursday that the upcoming period will likely be difficult for
northern residents, and asked them to “bite their lips in the upcoming period.”
“It will be a hard time but we must go to war against a threat of 2,000 or 3,000 Hizbullah members who threaten the security of Israel,” Ramon told Ynet.
Minister Ramon, who is considered one of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert’s closest associates, added that Israel’s offensive in Lebanon would
be extensive in scope, but preferred to avoid using the term “war.” According to Ramon, it was clear that Israel was now fighting for its determent capacities against Hizbullah.
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“I assume that if Syria attacked us, we would retaliate with a war. Israel has the right to defend its citizens, and they cannot suffer from the Katyusha attacks any more or from the threat against IDF soldiers, by an organization that is part of the sovereign Lebanese government,” Ramon said.
Obligatory steps
“Israel is taking the obligatory steps. I don’t want to get into definitions. Although this is without a doubt the largest scale operation since the Lebanon war (1982). The definition of our aim is simply to stop the Hizbullah threat against Israel in the north,” the justice minister added.
Simultaneously, Deputy Prime Minister Shimon Peres was working to aid residents along the northern border, who have been exposed to Hizbullah Katyusha barrages since the early morning hours. Peres asked employees of his office, the Ministry for the Development of the Negev and the Galilee, to gather from northern regional council heads a list of what they needed considering the rocket attacks.
Thursday afternoon, Peres was slated to hold a special discussion in his office on the matter.
Meanwhile, Peres and Industry, Trade and Labor Minister Eli Yishai were expected to visit northern communities to assess Katyusha damages. Yishai planned to offer his aid to the area council heads and to Nahariya and northern border residents.
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