Prime minister says Palestinians walk away from talks, and then encourage sanctions because there are no talks
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday condemned growing efforts to delegitimize Israel as a “rape of truth,” charging that the Palestinians were responsible for the absence of peace talks.
“It’s amazing, this travesty of justice, this violation of the truth — the rape of truth,” Netanyahu said of the growing efforts to delegitimize Israel he said were disguised as criticism.
The “nefarious” efforts have two components, the prime minister noted. “One is the overall rejection of Israel, our very right to exist here. But the other is couched, very cleverly, in the attempts to put pressure on Israel because there are no negotiations — except here’s the catch. The Palestinians refuse to negotiate, and then organize boycotts because there are no negotiations.”
Addressing the US delegates of the Jewish Agency for Israel in Tel Aviv Monday, Netanyahu also warned the primary threat facing Israel and the Jewish people is Iran’s pursuit of nuclear weapons.
The prime minister called the emerging deal between Iran and six world powers a “big and historic mistake,” and charged that the terms of the agreement aimed at curbing Iran’s nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief were “getting worse by the day.”
“The negotiators are discussing a deal that would endanger Israel’s survival, the security of the region and the peace of the world,” Netanyahu said, reiterating his long-held opposition to an agreement with Iran.
“They must not reward a regime that denies the Holocaust, arms, funds, trains and dispatches terrorists on Israel’s borders and around the world,” he continued, saying that terror cells in at least 30 countries were backed by the Iranian regime.
“Better no deal than a terrible deal,” he said, urging the P5+1 countries to walk away from the negotiating table.
Netanyahu told the delegates to speak up in opposition to the deal in their respective countries. “Be clear, confident when you speak the simple truth — this is what is required of leaders,” he said.
The prime minister said outspoken honesty was also a good approach for combating the resurgence of anti-Semitism worldwide.
“Whatever you are, don’t be politically correct, just be correct,” he said eliciting applause from the audience.
He also praised the Jewish Agency for facilitating immigration to Israel over the last year for thousands of Jews, mainly from France and Ukraine.
As reported by The Times of Israel