Livni: Truce with Hamas ‘weakening Israel’

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s dealings with Hamas are “weakening” the country, former Justice Minister Tzipi Livni warned yesterday.

In an interview on Army Radio after reports surfaced of talks being underway for a long-term ceasefire agreement, Livni said: “When we negotiate with Hamas, with extremists, we are damaging our ability to act militarily instead of strengthening relations with moderates.”

“We must strengthen our status among moderates – Egypt, Jordan and the moderate Palestinian leadership – and simultaneously we must aggressively respond to attacks against us in order to give Israel its deterrence capability back.”

She warned that “negotiating with Hamas and quietly absorbing rocket attacks is problematic in the long term from a security standpoint.”

Sources in the Office of the Prime Minister have denied the existence of any contacts between the government and the Islamic Resistance Movement Hamas about a long-term truce, as reported by Palestinian and Arab media outlets.

On the issue of Palestinian prisoner Mohammed Allan, who has been on a hunger strike for more than two months, the former minister said: “Israel does not have any interest in his release or even in moving him outside the country.”

She added: “As a sovereign state, Israel must fight terrorism and not bow to such demands,” arguing that “the force-feeding law is the only legal solution to the prisoners’ strikes.”