Top Israeli Official: 'If Hamas Thinks They Can Get Away with This, They’re Wrong'
Head of the Yamina party issues terror group a warning
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The head of the Yamina party and Israel 's Knesset member, Naftali Bennett, warned Hamas to stop attacking Israel or risk the annihilation of its leadership.
Bennett issued the terror group Israel’s demands on the Arabic news channel Al Jazeera.
The official said the mounting death toll in Israel and the Gaza strip was due to the Palestinian terrorist's actions.
Bennett said all Hamas needs to do is “lay down its arms" to stop the violence.
“It’s up to Hamas as long as Hamas keeps [attacking Israel] in order to murder Israelis across the state — by the way, Arabs and Jews alike,” Bennett said.
“Hamas already murdered two Arab Israelis in the city of Lod, a dad, 52 years old, and his daughter Nadin, 16 years old, Israeli Arabs who were murdered."
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"A Holocaust survivor, 85 years old, was murdered by Hamas, in her wheelchair.”
“If Hamas thinks they can get away with this, they’re wrong. We’ll hunt down every commander, every post until we win,” Bennett said.
When asked about the deaths of civilians in Gaza from Israeli airstrikes, Bennett said Hamas bears responsibility.
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“Indeed, Hamas killed them. Because when you hide your rockets behind women and children, you are effectively murdering your own people,” Bennett said.
“We will defend ourselves. And if Hamas decides to turn schools into terror bases, and hospitals, in a cowardly manner, into terror bases, they are responsible for murdering their own people.”
The host then suggested Israel bore some responsibility for the civilian deaths because of the lack of bomb shelters.
But Bennett dismissed the notion as “nonsense.”
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“Instead of taking its money and investing in hospitals, in schools, in building a future for its people, [Hamas is] spending all its money on terror, on trying to kill Israelis."
"It’s both stupid and wrong. It’s stupid because they are not going to succeed because we’re strong, and we are going to defend ourselves."
"And, you know, I am in the position now, but make no mistake, we are all united, we stand strongly united. And there’s one way for this to stop: For Hamas to lay down its arms. And then, it’ll stop,” Bennett said.
Bennett said that all of Israel stands “united.”
"When we get hundreds of rockets a night on Israel, we all stand united. No one will divide us, and we’ll fight back,” Bennett said.
“We’re a democracy. I’m darn proud that that we’re a democracy. And, yes, part of democracy is the ability to criticize one another, but we in Israel have a sort of an unspoken rule: When we’re at war with an enemy that wants to annihilate us, we stand together."
He also rubbished claims that the conflict was because of Hamas’ and Palestinians’ lack of a recognized state.
“We gave Hamas everything, unfortunately,” Bennett said, referring to a 2005 agreement in which Israel completely evacuated the Gaza Strip.
“If they decide that they want to start governing and stop being a failed terror state which is a miserable future for their own people, they’ll find a peaceful neighbor. But if they continue this, it’s just going to get worse."
“And I’m telling every commander, every soldier of Hamas: We’re after you. We’re coming after you. We’re not going to let off. So you might as well stop shooting at Israel,” Bennett said.
“It would create a terror state that does not exist yet in Judea and Samaria and would effectively deem Israel unable to defend ourselves. The whole width of Israel is just about seven or eight miles,” Bennet said.
“We see what they turned Gaza into. No Israeli is going to give up Judea and Samaria and allow them to create a terror state that’s just a few minutes away from my home. Would you?”
