'We know how to respond.' Livni
Photo: Gil Yohanan
'Freedom to act.' Mofaz
Photo: Yotam Frum
Livni: Netanyahu won't even think of returning to Gaza
After PM says 2005 withdrawal 'did not bring peace or security,' Opposition leader says Gush Katif evacuation was a 'historic move'
"(Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu must make a distinction between resettling Gaza and the State of Israel's security," Opposition leader Tzipi Livni said Sunday.
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The Kadima chairwoman, who was a staunch supporter of Israel's unilateral withdrawal from the Strip in the summer of 2005, was responding to comments made earlier in the day by the PM, according to which the pullout "did not bring peace or security, and Gaza became a Hamas outpost ruled by Iran."
During a tour of the Negev, Livni said the evacuation of the Jewish settlements in Gush Katif "was a historical move, and there is a consensus that if a peace agreement is eventually reached, it will not include keeping Gaza under Israeli sovereignty.
"Of course every government must care for those who were uprooted from their homes," the Opposition leader said a few hours after a Qassam rocket landed near a western Negev kibbutz.
"We've proven that when Gaza is used as a terror base we know how to respond, just like we did during Operation Cast Lead. When Israel is attacked, we respond. Hamas has the ability to prevent the attacks on Israel. Israel's army is strong enough to respond to any development, but this has nothing to do with resettling Gaza," she said.
Kadima Knesset Member Shaul Mofaz, who joined Livni on the Negev tour, called the Gaza Disengagement a "historic process that helped keep many Israeli citizens out of harm's way and gave the army the freedom to act against the terror organizations and the Iranians' hold on Gaza.
"We would have paid a heavy price had we not pulled out of Gaza," he said.
