(Jerusalem Post) Jeremy Sharon - Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman on Wednesday called on the citizens of Gaza to overthrow the Hamas regime and promised that Israeli support and assistance for the Palestinian population will be forthcoming if such an uprising takes place. He said tax revenues from Gaza's residents "are not going to benefit those residents, not to the health system or the education system, or the electricity grid, but to make missiles, weapons and tunnels - and people aren't willing to tolerate this." Lieberman pointed to the much better economic opportunities and calmer security situation in the West Bank as evidence of the efficacy of economic development for security. He said, "If the residents of Gaza took responsibility for their own fate and got rid of Hamas, we would be the first to build industrial zones there at Kerem Shalom and the Erez crossing and build a seaport and airport." Lieberman was also critical of President Obama's pardon of Chelsea Manning, who leaked "thousands of sensitive documents" and exposed them to the enemies of the U.S., while Obama refused to ease the terms of parole for Jonathan Pollard, who had transferred documents only to a U.S. ally.
2017-01-19 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive