Netanyahu said that Gaza is now a “terrorist base”, four years after the withdrawal from the Strip

Date published: 3rd August 2009

Source: Europa Press (translated into English by 3.071 Km)

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Netanyahu said that Gaza is now a “terrorist base”, four years after the withdrawal from the Strip

JERUSALEM, Aug. 2 (EUROPA PRESS) —

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, today held a negative balance of the four years that have elapsed since the unilateral withdrawal of Israel from the Gaza Strip, which is now “a Hamas terrorist base sponsored by Iran.”

“Israel forced 10,000 of its citizens to leave the Gaza Strip,  and now Gaza has become a terrorist base”, Netanyahu said during the regular weekly meeting of his Cabinet, which declared its intention to ensure the welfare of Israelis who left the 21 Israeli settlements that existed in the Strip during the so-called Plan of disconnection.

“I want to stress that we are fully committed to the rehabilitation of those who were uprooted, and that the Cabinet intends to address this issue next week,” said the Israeli prime minister, who said on the peace plan for Middle East that Palestinian militias currently operating in the Strip were an obstacle to the principle of  “reciprocity” to dominate the process.

“We will not tolerate rocket fire from Gaza, and we will act decisively to respond to each attack. Peace once again will be based on reciprocity”, Netanyahu said. Israeli Prime Minister further mentioned that any kind of negotiation to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict can not be subject to any preconditions. “Anyone who insists on this issue is an obstacle to the peace talks”, he said in a statement by the Israeli newspaper ‘Haaretz’.