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Netanyahu: United front against terror is an opportunity for peace
Speaking at a counter-terrorism conference yesterday, Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that a combined regional effort to combat terror could provide a stimulus towards peace.
Netanyahu was speaking at the annual conference of the International Institute for Counter-Terrorism in Herzliya in the wake of US President Obama’s address outlining his strategy for tacking ISIS, including air strikes in Syria. Netanyahu said that he “fully supports” Obama’s call for a coalition against ISIS and commented that, “Israel is doing its part in the fight against ISIS – some of this is more known and some of this is less known.” Earlier this week, Reuters reported that Israel is supplying crucial satellite imagery and other intelligence to bolster the United States-led effort.
However, Netanyahu explained that the threat of Sunni group ISIS is matched by Hamas, Al-Qaeda and Shiite groups. He commented that they are “all branches of the same poisonous tree,” adding, “They’re two sides of the same coin. We don’t have to strengthen one to weaken the other. My policy is: Weaken both.”
Netanyahu said that this shifting regional reality has caused “many Sunni Arab states” to “understand Israel is not their enemy but their ally in the fight against this common enemy. I believe that presents an opportunity for cooperation and perhaps an opportunity for peace.” Netanyahu called for action to tackle terror wherever it appears, saying, “It is important not to let any of these groups succeed anywhere. Because if they gain ground somewhere, they gain ground everywhere.”
However, he reserved special warning against allowing Iran to obtain nuclear weaponry, saying it would lead to, “Horrors you couldn’t even contemplate come to fruition. The ultimate terror. A terrorist regime with the weapons of the greatest terror of them all. We must not let that happen.” Ynet reports that there is concern among Israeli leaders that the common threat of ISIS could lead the United States to relax pressure on Iran over its nuclear development.