Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon said Tuesday in a possible reference to Sunday’s airstrikes in Syria, which media reports and several nations attributed to Israel, that “we have drawn red lines for the various elements operating in Syria.” The Israeli government has not officially confirmed nor denied that it was behind the airstrikes.
Speaking at a meeting of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, Ya’alon said, “Our enemies do not stop presenting us with challenges. Whether it’s Iran, which continues to advance its military nuclear program, or whether it’s the same Iran orchestrating terror against us while arming our enemies.”
Addressing the situation in the Gaza Strip, the defense minister said that “while Operation Protective Edge has deterred Hamas, it continues to arm itself despite the distress in the Strip, mostly for the over 100,000 civilians who lost their homes in the war.”
Hamas was also a factor in Ya’alon’s assessment of the situation in Judea and Samaria. He cited a drop in the scope of terror and incitement in the area, but said “there are no assurances this state of calm will continue.”
“There is a great deal of pressure, primarily from Hamas, to turn up the heat in Judea and Samaria,” he said. “We are continuing to operate there to dismantle terrorist infrastructure directed mainly from the outside, from the Gaza Strip and Turkey. Additionally, we are continuing to combat terrorism by lone attackers.”
JNS.ORG
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