Bennett: Israel can defeat Gaza terror

Habayit Hayehudi chairman says government needs to make a switch in its counter-terrorism policy and seek decisive blows rather than containment

Shiri Hadar|Published: 01.06.13 , 22:52

Habayit Hayehudi Chairman Naftali Bennett said Sunday that all political parties, including the Likud-Beiteinu, should sign a paper "pledging never to evict Jews from their homes."

Speaking to students in Kiryat Ono, Bennett was asked whether he was willing to sign a paper saying he will evacuate Jewish settlements if given such orders and replied, "I never operate under pressure or under threats."

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Bennett criticized the Netanyahu government's security policy. "We need to make the switch from resigning with terror – a policy that saw the south under a rocket barrage. It is a weak and dangerous policy because it encourages terror.

"The IDF cannot lose one campaign after the other. The IDF needs to make decisive blows and it can. We have the capacity to defeat terror."

Addressing claims that Israel cannot disregard international pressure, he said, "You're the ones living in a bubble, you're the ones who think the world revolves around Israel. You're delusional. It indicates a lack of understanding of the world. It's a provincial point of view.

"There will never be a Palestinian state between Jordan and the Mediterranean. No one will support my political plan outside Israel but no one outside Israel recognizes Katzrin, Ramot or Gilo, but we do and we’ve exercised sovereignty there."

The Habayit Hayehudi chairman also commented on the harsh criticism leveled by former Shin Bet Chief Yuval Diskin at Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

"Leadership is not just being a politician but setting an example," he said. "A politician needs to invest 10% in himself and 90% in his country. The problem is when a politician invests 90% or 100% in his survival and dignity. There are such politicians I'm afraid."

Nevertheless he defended Netanyahu and remarked, "His heart is in the right place. The challenge is putting strong people, people of virtue next to him. The fact that Ehud Barak worked alongside him in the past four years caused considerable damage to Israel."