'I’ve killed more Arabs than anyone'
Ami Ayalon, who is running on Labor ticket in upcoming elections, tells Sunday Times ‘I killed many Arabs, probably more than Hamas fighters killed Jews, and more than anybody else, but all in order to secure Israeli lives’; adds that ‘seventy percent of those who voted for Hamas were not Hamas believers but voted against the corruption in the Palestinian Authority
Former Shin Bet Chief Ami Ayalon said in a recent interview with the London-based Sunday Times “I killed many Arabs, probably more than Hamas fighters killed Jews, and more than anybody else, but all in order to secure Israeli lives.”
Ayalon, who is running on the Labor party ticket in the upcoming general elections, said he wants a comprehensive peace settlement with the Palestinians even under a Hamas leadership.
“I’d be willing to negotiate with Hamas if the organization accepts the idea of a two-state solution,” the Times quoted him as saying.
Ayalon told the newspaper that he believes Israel should establish an “axis of pragmatism” with the regional countries that have full diplomatic relations with Israel — Morocco, Egypt, Jordan and Turkey.
“This is the whole idea — to create this pragmatic axis which will be supported by the European Union and the international community,” he said.
‘Abbas is weak’
“Seventy percent of those who voted for Hamas were not Hamas believers but voted against the corruption in the Palestinian Authority,” he said. “If we establish this axis it will break Hamas and we will see the pragmatist forces among the Palestinians.”
Referring to Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas, Ayalon said “I like the music of Abbas, his words, but not his actions. I think he is a weak leader.
“He’s unable to disarm Hamas and Islamic Jihad.”
As to the future of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Ayalon said “When it comes to his best advice on the Palestine question, however, he admitted it was a family affair. “If I learnt something about the conflict with the Palestinians, it is what my wife understood 30 years ago and tried in vain to teach me: Jews will only be safe when Palestinians have hope.”
Attila Somfalvi contributed to the report
