At start of cabinet meeting prime minister also thanks US for closing PLO mission in Washington, and marks 9/11 terror attack
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu opened his cabinet meeting Wednesday by stressing that the world must unite against not only against the threat of Islamic State, but also against that of Iran.
“It is doing so to a certain extent against Islamic State but it is not doing so against Iran,” he said. “On the contrary, what we are seeing is that while Iran is sending terrorist cells to Europe, European leaders are appeasing – and reconciling with – Iran, in the same week that the terrorist cells were due to carry out their operations, which we helped thwart. This is unacceptable.”
Netanyahu was presumably referring to intelligence the Mossad passed on to authorities in France, Germany, and Belgium leading to arrests of a cell headed by an Iranian diplomat that planned to bomb a June 30 conference organized by an Iranian dissident group, the People’s Mujahedeen of Iran.
The Israeli leader reiterated that “the appeasement of Iran abets the relentless assault on the values and security of the free societies, and the time has come for Western governments to join the strong and clear effort by the Trump administration against the terror regime in Tehran.”
The prime minister added that radical Shiites and radical Sunnis were both working to destroy Israel and destroy Western society.
“The world is being challenged by radical Islam, radical Shiites on the one hand led by Iran, and radical Sunnis led by Islamic State, but both have a single goal – to eliminate the free societies, as we recognize, to eliminate Israel and in the end to eliminate the West and others as well,” he said.
Netanyahu also took the opportunity to mark the 17th anniversary of the 9/11 terror attacks.
“Yesterday we marked 17 years since the awful terrorist attack against the American people at the Twin Towers in New York and at the Pentagon in [Greater] Washington,” he said. “This operation was carried out by Al-Qaeda. Al-Qaeda has passed the torch to Islamic State, even as Iran also promotes international terrorism.”
The prime minister reiterated his belief that the US “made the correct decision” in closing the Palestine Liberation Organization mission in Washington, DC, on Monday.
“The Palestinians refuse to enter negotiations with Israel even as they attack Israel with false claims in international forums,” he said. “Israel very much appreciates the Trump administration decision and supports American actions that are designed to make it clear to the Palestinians that the refusal to enter into negotiations with Israel and the unbridled attacks against Israel will not only not advance peace but will certainly not make things better for the Palestinians.”
As reported by The Times of Israel