Netanyahu ignores Mandelblit at cabinet, talks about Iran and Gaza

The prime minister called for a fight on terror at the first cabinet meeting since the attorney-general decided to indict him for bribery, fraud and breach of trust.

By HERB KEINON
Benjamin Netanyahu (photo credit: OHAD TZVEIGENBERG‏)
Benjamin Netanyahu
(photo credit: OHAD TZVEIGENBERG‏)
In the first cabinet meeting since Attorney-General Avichai Mandelblit’s decision to indict Benjamin Netanyahu on corruption charges, the prime minister – in front of the cameras on Sunday – discussed Iran and drones from Gaza, but not the indictment.
“There was an attempted drone incursion into Israel from the Gaza Strip yesterday that was successfully taken down,” Netanyahu said. “I want to say that the security cabinet has held a number of meetings about this threat.”
Netanyahu labeled this a “new” and “significant” threat.
“We are developing technological tools, and other means, to eradicate and thwart this threat,” he said, adding that he believed a way would be found to neutralize it, just as Israel developed the Iron Dome to deal with the threat of rockets from the coastal enclave.
Regarding Iran, Netanyahu quoted US General Kenneth F. McKenzie, the head of the US military’s Central Command, as saying Iran was planning another attack in the Middle East. But, Netanyahu said, Iran is not only attacking its neighbors and Israel, but also its own people.
“In recent weeks, they have massacred hundreds of Iranian citizens,” he said. “It is a tyrannical regime par excellence whose character and true nature are now exposed all over the world. It is the largest terrorist regime in the world, even towards its own citizens.”
Netanyahu called on all countries in the world who are interested in peace and stability in the region “to join efforts to place more and more pressure on Iran, and also to support Israel when it acts against its [Iran’s] aggression. We have and will continue to act.”
Netanyahu also condemned the firing on a police car over the weekend in the Galilee town of Deir al-Assad, saying that Israel will not tolerate attacks on the security forces. He said the country will continue to take efforts to bring “law and order” to the Arab communities: “They need it, and the country needs it.”