Zionist Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman said in an interview with a Palestinian newspaper Monday that ‘Israel’s next war with Gaza fighters would be their last “because we will completely destroy them.”
Lieberman however said he had no intention of starting a new war in Gaza, which would be the fourth since 2008. “As minister of defense, I would like to clarify that we have no intention of starting a new war against our neighbors in the Gaza Strip or the West Bank, Lebanon or Syria,” he said in the interview with Jerusalem-based Al-Quds newspaper.
“But in Gaza, like the Iranians, they intend to eliminate the state of Israel … If they impose the next war on Israel, it will be their last. I would like to emphasize again: It will be their last confrontation because we will completely destroy them.”
Lieberman predicted Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas would lose if elections were held, with polls showing most Palestinians would like the 81-year-old to resign.
Such elections could lead to Hamas taking power in the West Bank, but Lieberman said he believed a different outcome was possible.
“There are enough sensible people in the (Palestinian Authority) who understand the situation and know if there is a choice to make between Hamas and Israel, they think partnering with Israel will be better for them,” he said.
Al-Quds was heavily criticized on social media by Palestinians who say it should not have agreed to an interview with an Israeli official as it amounted to sanctioning “normalization” with an occupying power.
Source: Websites
