Benny Gantz promised Iran won’t get nuclear weapons on his watch and addressed the situation in Gaza.
By World Israel News Staff
Former IDF Chief of Staff Benny Gantz, leader of Israel’s main opposition party, Blue and White, vowed that he would ensure Iran will not get nuclear weapons during a speech at a conference sponsored by the Interdisciplinary Center for Diplomacy and Strategy in Herzliya on Monday.
“I am very familiar with Israel’s capabilities,” he said, Ma’ariv reports. “There isn’t a single method of action that I didn’t participate in during my tenure.”
“My test was to meet the very important challenge concerning the fate of the State of Israel and to prepare the IDF to act in every area and every place. I can tell you with confidence that when I establish the government, Iran will not have nuclear weapons,” Gantz said.
Gantz served as IDF chief of staff for year years, from 2011 to 2015. During that time, he oversaw Operation Pillar of Defense and Operation Protective Edge against Hamas in Gaza.
“Against an enemy like Iran it’s forbidden to blink, and you have to what’s necessary when it’s necessary,” he said.
Gantz also addressed the situation in the Gaza Strip, from which the terror group Hamas has launched missiles and incendiary devices and organizes weekly riots on the border. Israel’s government this week reached a ceasefire with the terror group.
“The ceasefire agreement is a source of great anger among the residents. The residents feel invisible and rightly so. The missed opportunity on Gaza is particularly difficult. In Operation Protective Edge, which we led successfully with [Prime Minister] Netanyahu and [then Defense Minister Moshe] Ya’alon, we achieved long and important years of quiet.
“But unfortunately, nothing serious has been done to preserve the quiet and to push the next campaign further away, if at all. On the other hand, millions were transferred to Hamas, and this is protection money and a failed attempt to achieve quiet with money.”