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Peretz: Hizbullah now realizes kidnapping price tag
Defense Minister tells fellow Labor members ‘any rational person understands that Lebanon war failures originate from previous governments’ policies; if Israel would have struck with force after 2000 kidnapping, incident would not have repeated itself’
“We must draw lessons; I am in favor of an in-depth investigation of all the ranks that will look into the failures and their origin,” Peretz said. “Any rational person understands that these things date back to more than two-and-a-half months ago, way before the current government was sworn in.”
Commenting on the abduction of the three IDF troops in 2000 the defense minister said, “If Israel would have struck with force back then, in 2000, it is unlikely the incident would have repeated itself (in 2006). Now Hizbullah understands that the price tag for kidnapping Israeli soldiers and attacking our communities is high. The accomplishments of the war in Lebanon are made more apparent with each passing day.”
'My truth will win'
According to Peretz ‘the strategic reality along the northern border has changed immeasurably: The Lebanese army is deploying in the south, an international force will take its place to ensure the implementation of UN Resolution 1701, and, as we promised at the beginning of the war, Hizbullah is no longer positioned along he border fence.”
He added: The smear campaign that depicts the war as a failure, all those who hurt others indiscriminately –they should be careful not to dishonor the soldiers.
“I have no problem with criticism, and I am not free of mistakes. I do however have a problem with distortion of the facts. Immediately following the war I set up an investigation committee headed by former Chief of Staff Amnon Lipkin-Shahak, and I believe this committee could have done an excellent job; but when additional committees were established, more complex legal questions arose, and therefore I decided to support the setting up of a State commission of inquiry to do the job.”
As to the current inter-party conflicts, the defense minister said ‘Anybody who wishes to run against me for the leadership of the party is invited to do so when the time comes.
"My truth will win, but until then the members will respect the decisions on the roles of the Labor party and its institutions and will stop drawing swords around me.”
Labor Party Secretary-General Eitan Cabel said during the meeting that the elections for party leadership will be held in May 2007, in accordance with the party’s constitution.
Peretz said the realignment plan is not feasible, adding that “Labor must call out for the immediate renewal of talks with (Palestinian President) Mahmoud Abbas.
“There are conditions for the resumption of negotiations: The return of Corporal Gilad Shalit to Israel and the cessation of Qassam rocket fire on Israel. If these terms are met, we will withdraw our forces beyond the 1967 border –we have no interest in having our soldiers in (Palestinian) territory.”
The defense minister concluded by saying ‘we cannot ignore Syria in the context of the fundamentalism axis that is being formed. We must be prepared but not close the door on the possibility of negotiations in the future.”
