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Israel Will Not 'Show Restraint'

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The Washington Post

Published: January 12, 2009

Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni told Newsweek-The Post's Lally Weymouth that the conflict in Gaza is not a fight of Israelis against Palestinians but a case in which Israel represents moderates in the region, including the Palestinian Authority. Here are some excerpts:

How do you respond to the pressure for a cease-fire from the international community?

I don't like the term cease-fire since it looks like an agreement between two legitimate sides. At the end of the day, this is not a conflict between two states but a fight against terror. ... We need to fight in Gaza because they Hamas have targeted Israel for eight years. We are fighting in order to weaken them and to affect their ability to target Israel in the future.

How long do you think this operation is going to take?

It depends. First we need to find out whether they understand that Israel is no longer a state which they can target while hoping for restraint. Israel is going to defend itself.

Have you achieved your objectives?

I think that some of these goals were achieved. ... At first they were shocked by the air raids. Then they thought Israel would never enter the Gaza Strip in a ground operation. So I think this is the point in which they understand the equation has changed and we have gained deterrence.

Will Israel reoccupy Gaza?

The idea is not to reoccupy the Gaza Strip. When we left the Gaza Strip, Hamas used to write on billboards that terror won and Israel left Gaza because of terror. So today the message for the Palestinians is that we left the Gaza Strip in order to create hopes for peace. But now we are coming back because of terror.

Does the pressure put on Israel by the international community to reach a cease-fire strengthen Hamas?

Hamas' strategy is resistance and survival. As long as they survive, this is a victory. When they know the international community is putting pressure on Israel, they can hold out and take some oxygen, waiting for Israel to be stopped by the international community.

Are you still in favor of an international monitoring group to help control the borders of Gaza - especially its border with Egypt?

I am not against the participation of the international community, but it doesn't replace our need to fight terrorism. And sometimes, when you have monitoring forces within a place, it makes it more difficult for us to defend ourselves, because the last thing we want is to kill people by mistake. ...

Israel is not going to show restraint anymore. ... it is not a missile against a missile.

People in Washington are interested in how long the operation will last and what Israel's aim is.

The Annapolis process is based on the understanding that we are working with a pragmatic leadership in the Palestinian Authority while fighting terror. It is a zero-sum game when Hamas is getting stronger while Abu Mazen is getting weaker. The Palestinians need to understand that Israel can share and implement and translate the vision of two states for two peoples with those that accept this vision, who accept Israel's existence and renounce violence and terrorism. Hamas does not. Hamas does not represent the national aspirations of the Palestinians.

Would you say Hamas needs to be removed?

I would say that the Gaza Strip controlled by Hamas is a burden not only to Israel but to the Palestinians themselves.

Do you feel you have the backing of the Arab moderates?

It is no longer the Israeli-Palestinian or the Jewish-Arab conflict, but it is a conflict between moderates and extremists. This is the way this region is now divided.

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