Netanyahu: Israel's policy is to stop our enemies from obtaining nuclear weapons
Nearly 12 hours after Israel confirmed 2007 attack on Syria's nuclear reactor, PM makes first comment, while Damascus remains silent; Israel's party leaders praise 'courageous' strike, while Defense Minister Lieberman worried boasting could lead to exposure of classified material.
Nearly 12 hours after Israel confirmed it had destroyed Syrian's nuclear reactor in 2007, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reiterated Wednesday afternoon that Israel's policy has been and remains consistent—"to prevent our enemies from arming themselves with nuclear weapons."
"The Government of Israel, the IDF and the Mossad prevented Syria from developing a nuclear capability. For this they are deserving of all praise," the prime minister said.
The Syrian regime, meanwhile, has so far had nothing to say about the destruction of the secret nuclear reactor it had started building in 2002 with the help of North Korea. The Syrians did not retaliate after the actual strike, and have remained silent even after the operation was confirmed by Israel.
But while Damascus remains quiet, the leaders of all of Israel's major parties offered their congratulations immediately after the reactor strike was cleared for publication Wednesday at 5am.
Defense Minister and Yisrael Beytenu leader Avigdor Lieberman, who served as a cabinet minister at the time, said: "Today, we can reveal what we did in the cabinet in September 2007. There were those who pushed and there were those who hesitated.
"The historic and courageous decision that we took proved then that—just like today—when it comes to national security, you can’t surrender. National interests must be adhered to, decisions must be taken and we must act as we need. Just try to imagine what would have happened had we avoided taking action. We would have gotten a nuclear Syria."
Interviews: Attila Somfalvi, Yoav Zitun, Ron Ben-Yishai; Content editor: Noam Gil; Director: Assaf Cuzin; Camera: Yaron Sharon, Ori Davidovitch, Yogev Attias; Script, video editing, animation: Tamar Avraham; Production: Adi Berman; Content management: Noa Glickstein Keren.
Zionist Union leader Avi Gabbay said, "The details of the attack that were cleared for publication this morning are impressive, both intelligence-wise and security-wise. This is the State of Israel's strength, and these are the exceptional abilities that turn us into the strongest military power in the Middle East. Eleven years after that important strike, the northern arena in Syria and in Lebanon is more explosive than ever and requires cautious, responsible and calculated conduct. This complex security reality will continue and require the IDF to act deep within enemy territory to protect the state's security."
Education Minister and Bayit Yehudi leader Naftali Bennett tweeted, "Kill or be killed. I congratulate the Israeli government and its leader at the time, Ehud Olmert, on making a courageous decision for Israel's security, and the Air Force pilots for a perfect and clean execution of the operation."
Yesh Atid leader Yair Lapid tweeted, "Operation Out of the Box, the attack on the Syria reactor a decade ago, is the essence of Israeli strength. "Invaluable intelligence, cooperation between the security forces and an accurate execution. It also serves as proof that the government's job is to act, not just to speak. In the future, too, Israel will keep acting against any potential threat in full force, at all times and in all places."
Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon said, "The attack on the Syrian nuclear reactor is an expression of the military abilities of the IDF, which has proven once again that its long arm is capable of carrying out any mission regardless of the distance and complexity. Israel's citizens can rely on the IDF and the security forces to provide a response to every threat. Drawing red lines is not just a matter of declarations, but a willingness to back the words with action."
Lieberman slams battle for credit
In later comments, Lieberman denounced the battles being waged in the political and military sphere over who should be credited for successful bombing of the reactor. "This is not what we intended," Lieberman said in a conversation with Ynet.
The defense minister, on a visit to Africa, said he was not completely sure regarding the exposure of Israel's involvement in the bombing to begin with.
"Instead of leaving the stage to the soldiers, pilots and intelligence people who are responsible for the operation's success, different people are using it for self aggrandizement, and in the process expose operational considerations and even work methods and status evaluations we may need to avail ourselves of in the future," Lieberman said.
"Iranian intelligence has earned valuable information and Israel's security was damaged," he concluded.
The first battle for credit was the one between then-defense minister Ehud Barak and then-prime minister Ehud Olmert. Barak objected to the initial operation plan and sought to postpone it. While Olmert claimed Barak wanted to delay the operation for political reasons, Barak insisted he only sought to correct the mistakes of a "certified slipshod person."
The second clash that came to light on Wednesday was between the two leading intelligence bodies—the Mossad and the Military Intelligence Directorate. Former Mossad director Tamir Pardo claimed the late discovery of the reactor was a "spectacular failure," noting the Mossad was placed in “the shadow of a shadow” for reasons relating to censorship.
On the other hand, the head of Military Intelligence in 2007, Amos Yadlin, mentioned that the initial suspicion about the reactor was raised by an IDF major, while in the Mossad "there were many, including the head of the agency, who said 'there's nothing of the kind, where did you bring this idea from?'"
About 10 years ago, when he served as opposition leader, Netanyahu was slammed by fellow politicians for saying in a Channel 1 interview that he had congratulated then-Prime Minister Ehud Olmert after the operation in Deir ez-Zor. His remarks were interpreted as a confirmation of the operation, which the Military Censorship had placed a gag order on for more than a decade.
"When a prime minister does things that I see as important for Israel's security, I support him. In this case, I was in on this issue from the very first moment, and I backed it, but it's too early to discuss this issue and there's enough time to offer all the congratulations," Netanyahu said at the time.
