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Netanyahu: It's 1938 and Iran is Germany; Ahmadinejad is preparing another Holocaust

PM hints Israel has the military capability to curb the Iranian threat but time is running out.

Drawing a direct analogy between Iran and Nazi Germany, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu asserted that the Iranian nuclear program posed a threat not only to Israel, but to the entire western world. There was "still time," however, to prevent Tehran from acquiring nuclear weapons, he said.

"It's 1938 and Iran is Germany. And Iran is racing to arm itself with atomic bombs," Netanyahu told delegates to the annual United Jewish Communities General Assembly, repeating the line several times, like a chorus, during his address. "Believe him and stop him," the opposition leader said of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. "This is what we must do. Everything else pales before this."

While the Iranian president "denies the Holocaust," Netanyahu said, "he is preparing another Holocaust for the Jewish state."

Speaking on Army Radio on Tuesday, Netanyahu hinted that Israel possesses the military capabilities necessary for curbing by itself the Iranian nuclear threat, declining to specify what these entail.

Netanyahu said "I don't want to analyze the capability required to eliminate [the Iranian] threat, but this capability exists," when told by host Razi Barkai that Israel lacks the ability to eliminate Tehran's nuclear program by military means.

"This capability is eroded over time, and if we wait years then obviously this capability would not exist anymore ... but right now I disagree with the claim that nothing can be done against Iran," he added.

When asked if Bush could afford embarking on another "military adventure" after Iraq, Netanyahu said acting on the Iranian nuclear program would not be adventurous but necessary.

"... Israel would certainly be the first stop on Iran's tour of destruction, but at the planned production rate of 25 nuclear bombs a year ... [the arsenal] will be directed against 'the big Satan,' the U.S., and the 'moderate Satan,' Europe," Netanyahu said.

"Iran is developing ballistic missiles that would reach America, and now they prepare missiles with an adequate range to cover the whole of Europe," he added.

"No one cared"

Criticizing the international community in his GA speech for not acting more forcefully in trying to prevent Iran from becoming a nuclear power - "No one cared then and no one seems to care now," he said, again drawing on the Nazi parallel - Netanyahu warned that Tehran's nuclear and missile program "goes way beyond the destruction of Israel - it is directed to achieve world-wide range. It's a global program in the service of a mad ideology."

Large sections of the international community, he said, also misunderstood the nature of radical Islam and its role in the Mideast conflict. "What happens in Iran affects what happens in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, not the other way round," he said.

Netanyahu said he believed that Iran could still be stopped from acquiring nuclear weapons. "There is still time. All ways must be considered. We can't let this thing happen," he said, but did not outline specific measures he thought should be taken.

Referring to Israel's preemptive strike in the 1967 War, he did say that stopping Iran required "preemptive leadership. Preemption requires will and vision."

"Noone will defend the Jews if the Jews don't defend themselves," he said to loud applause. "Iran's nuclear ambitions have to be stopped."

EU imposes tough sanctions on Iran over nuclear plan

EU leaders meeting in Brussels, including Taoiseach Brian Cowen, said tougher action was “inevitable”. 

“The [EU] deeply regrets that Iran has not taken the many opportunities which have been offered to it to remove the concerns of the international community over the nature of the Iranian nuclear programme.”EUROPEAN UNION leaders have imposed new sanctions on Iran, including curbs on equipment sales for its vital oil and gas industries, in protest at Tehran’s disputed nuclear programme.

Iran shipping and air freight companies will be banned from operating in EU territories, new visa bans and asset freezes will be enforced “especially on the Islamic Revolutionary Guard”. Banks and insurance companies will also be targeted by the sanctions, the leaders said in a final communique.

The EU is ready “to work for a diplomatic solution” of the crisis, it said, while it called on Tehran “to demonstrate willingness to build the confidence of the international community. What is needed is a serious negotiation about Iran’s nuclear programme”.

Following indications from Israel that it will relax the Gaza blockade, EU high representative Catherine Ashton said: “We’ve said there should be a change from a list of goods that are allowed into Gaza, a reversal of that, to a list of goods that are not allowed, in order to make sure that many, many more goods can get into Gaza to enable people to reconstruct their homes, to build schools, to replace infrastructure and also to allow people to get on with their ordinary lives.”


Israel Security Cabinet Decision
(Communicated by the Israel Prime Minister's Media Adviser)
June 17, 2010

The Security Cabinet conducted an extensive discussion over the last two days regarding adjustments in Israel’s Gaza policy.
 
It was agreed to:
 
* Liberalize the system by which civilian goods enter Gaza.
* Expand the inflow of materials for civilian projects that are under international supervision.
* Continue existing security procedures to prevent the inflow of weapons and war materiel;
 
The Cabinet will decide in the coming days on additional steps to implement this policy.
 
Israel expects the international community to work toward the immediate release of Gilad Shalit.

Israel Defense Minister Ehud Barak warns Lebanon

But even as the security cabinet eased up on what would be allowed into Gaza through the land crossings, it reiterated that the naval blockade would remain in place, with Defense Minister Ehud Barak warning Beirut about boats that will reportedly set sail for Gaza from Lebanon.

“I am saying clearly to the Lebanese government,” Barak said in a statement, “you are responsible for vessels leaving your ports with the clear intention of trying to block the naval blockade of Gaza.”

Barak, reflecting serious concern about the boats that Israel has linked to Hizbullah activists, said Lebanon had a responsibility to prevent the boats from being loaded with arms and ammunition, “which could lead to a violent and dangerous confrontation in the event that the boat refuses to come to Ashdod.” 

The security cabinet, which met Thursday for the second time in two days to discuss relaxing the restrictions on Gaza, issued a statement saying it agreed to “liberalize the system by which civilian goods enter Gaza; expand the inflow of materials for civilian projects that are under international supervision; [and] continue existing security procedures to prevent the inflow of weapons and war materiel.”

A statement issued after the meeting said the cabinet would decide in the “coming days on additional steps to implement this policy.” 

Among the steps expected to be enacted are drawing up a list of goods that are prohibited because of security concerns – rather than the current situation in which only goods on a permitted list are allowed in – and developing a mechanism to ensure that dual-use material is allowed into Gaza only for earmarked projects under the auspices of the UN, the Quartet or a recognized international organization.

According to Barak, the intention of the decision is to allow more goods into Gaza, but always only after an Israeli search of the cargo to ensure that it does not include “weapons, ammunition or materiel that can aid in fighting.” 

Barak said the naval blockade would remain in place to ensure that missiles, rockets and other arms are not brought there, and that all ships that wanted to bring goods into Gaza would have to do so via the Ashdod Port, where they could be checked by Israel, as is the case for ships bringing goods destined for Ramallah.

Nevertheless, the security cabinet decision marked a dramatic change in Israel’s policy, in place for the past three years, regarding what is and is not allowed into Gaza.

This policy was initiated by Ehud Olmert’s government in 2007, in light of continued firing of Kassam rockets on Sderot and western Negev communities. The cabinet at the time declared Gaza a “hostile territory” under Hamas’s control. The objective of the policy was widely perceived to be to underline the difference between life in Gaza under Hamas and life in the West Bank under the Palestinian Authority, with the hope that this would lead to domestic pressure on Hamas – and also that it would soften up Hamas in the negotiations over kidnapped soldier Gilad Schalit.

The policy, however, has been roundly criticized by both the US and EU as counterproductive, and as being responsible for strengthening – not weakening – Hamas’s control over Gaza.

One official in the Prime Minister’s Office, trying to downplay the impression that the change in policy was a result of intense pressure that has come to bear on Israel since the May 31 raid on the Mavi Marmara, said that Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu had initiated a policy review of Gaza immediately after assuming office last year, and that over the past six months, both the types of goods and the quantity of goods allowed into Gaza had increased.

“Today’s decision is ultimately an extension of that policy,” the official said. “Israel does not have a problem with civilian goods reaching Gaza, but only war materiels and dual-use items.”

A government official described the change in policy by saying that “policy is not dogma, and it must reflect political reality.”

The implication was that the political reality Israel now faces was significantly different than what it was when the Olmert government initiated the policy.

Asked what Israel was getting in return for the change of policy, the official said there was strong international support for Israel’s position on keeping arms from reaching Gaza, even though there was a great deal of international criticism over barring civilian goods. The hope was that by removing the “distraction” over the civilian goods, Israel would strengthen international legitimacy for the naval blockade and security procedures needed to keep weapons and ammunition out of Gaza.

President Barack Obama's chief spokesman, Robert Gibbs, said Israel's decision Thursday to allow all foods and some construction materials into the Gaza Strip was a "step in the right direction."

Quartet envoy Tony Blair, who has discussed the matter with Netanyahu three times over the last 10 days, welcomed the change of policy, saying it was an important step toward “easing the lives of Palestinians in Gaza.” 

Blair released a statement saying, “Israel has the clear right to defend itself and protect its security. The best way to do this is to ensure that weapons cannot reach Gaza, whilst allowing into Gaza the items of ordinary daily life, including materials for the construction of homes, infrastructure and services as the UN have asked, and permitting legitimate business to revive. The decision to allow foodstuffs and household items is a good start.”

He said the Quartet would continue its discussions with Israel to “flesh out” the new policy.

Blair also called for the “immediate and unconditional release” of Schalit, “whose ongoing detention is totally unjustified.” 

The security cabinet, in its statement Thursday, said Israel “expects the international community to work toward the immediate release” of Schalit.

On Friday, the European Union’s high representative Catherine Ashton plans to hold a working meeting in Brussels to explore the revival and expansion of the EU’s past role as a monitoring body regarding goods heading into Gaza.

On Thursday, on the margins of a European Council meeting, she said, “We’ve offered to Israel support, of course, linked to the Palestinian Authority.”

She added, “I look with great interest at what the Israeli government has said, and this is an ‘in principle’ statement at this stage.” 

Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Ángel Moratinos said Israel was “moving in the right direction,” and stated the EU’s readiness to work with the parties involved.

In a statement released to the press by the Spanish EU presidency, Moratinos said that the EU wanted “a European presence at crossing points into Gaza to facilitate the arrival of all kinds of goods and individuals.” 

At the same time, it will be a guarantee to Israel of “due vigilance and control to ensure that there is no arms smuggling or anything which could be detrimental to the security of the region,” he said.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said he hoped the cabinet’s decision was a real step toward meeting needs in Gaza.

He asked UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Robert Serry, who returned to Jerusalem Thursday after briefing the UN Security Council in New York, to immediately engage the Israeli government to learn more about the decision.

Ban said the UN “continues to seek a fundamental change in policy as agreed by the Quartet, so that humanitarian assistance, commercial goods and people are able to flow through functioning open crossings, and so that reconstruction can take place.”

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