In a pre-Independence Day interview, Anna Ahronheim reports for the Jerusalem Post, Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman said, “We don’t have any illusions, but we are open to dialogue with Arab states….Iran is a big threat to the entire region, not just to Israel….There is an understanding in the world about this. At the Munich Security Conference last month [in March], Iran was the biggest topic. Everyone spoke about Iran, not about the Palestinians. The speech by [Saudi Arabia Foreign Minister] Adel al-Jubeir was very interesting; it was the first time I saw a high-ranking Saudi official talking about this.”
It is “very clear that terrorist organizations are unable to survive without Iran,” which continues to finance terrorist groups with at least $300 million a year. The moderate Sunni states in the region “know that Israel is a very strong and reliable ally and it is in their interests to work with us. We are open to all kinds of dialogue with all moderate states.”
Israel has “adopted a very clear policy regarding Hamas and Hizbullah. We have no intention to launch any military operation on either border….We try to avoid war because no one wants a war, but sometimes, even despite our best intentions and desires, there can be accidents that can lead to a war. If someone wants to impose a war on us, it will be a completely different war than they have ever seen before.”
{Matzav.com Israel News}
