Netanyahu: Israel fully supports Obama against ISIS
Prime minister says all terror groups are 'branches of the same poisonous tree' and warns they present a 'clear and present danger' to our common civilization.
Less than 24 hours after US President Barack Obama laid out his strategy for the new chapter in the war on terror, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that "Israel fully supports Obama's call for a united action against ISIS."
Netanyahu asked the crowd to imagine "would have happened if on 9/11 al-Qaeda had nuclear weapons? You know they would have used them against New York and Washington."
Netanyahu warned an audience of diplomats and experts assembled at a counter-terrorism conference in Herzliya that Hamas, al-Qaeda, ISIS, and other terror groups were "all branches of the same poisonous tree."
Netanyahu at counter-terrorism conference (Photo: Motti Kimchi)
The Likud leader stressed that all terror groups "present a clear and present danger to the peace and security of the world and to our common civilization" and that if "they gain ground somewhere, they gain ground everywhere."
Netanyahu speaks at counter-terrorism conference (צילום: אבי חי)
Fighting these groups "requires weapons, defensive and offensive, but above all it requires – I believe – clarity and courage. Clarity to understand they're wrong and we're right. They're evil and we're good. No moral relativism there, at all," insisted Netanyahu.
The prime minister continued: "It requires courage and responsibility – because all the other qualities that we can bring to bear in the battle against terrorism are meaningless if you don't have courage."
Islamic State fighters in Syria (Photo: AP)
Reiterating his support for Obama's declared strategy of cooperation against the Islamic State, Netanyahu said that the fight against global terror was a "common battle for a common future."
The Israeli leader said the threat of global terror has also shifted the balance of power in the region and allowed for "new alliances in the Middle East" now that previous rivals "understand that Israel is not their enemy, but their ally, in this battle against a common foe."
Netanyahu and US Ambassador to Israel Shapiro (Photo: Motti Kimchi)
On a hopeful note, Netanyahu suggested the united front against terror could be an "opportunity for peace."
The Israeli leader emphasized that Islamic extremism poses a specific threat to Jews, but also to other ethnic and religious groups. "We have been able to predict in the past that radical ideologies which inflame the minds of millions set their sights on minorities, usually starts with the Jews but it never ends with the Jews.
He said that "they eventually fail, but not before they take down tens of millions of our own people. I am confident that militant Islam will perish. But we must not allow anyone to perish with it before it goes down."
