Lieberman says Israel cannot deal with Hamas - how about Iran?

Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman said on Friday that Israel’s inability to deal with Hamas left much speculation on how Israel could deal with Iran.

Speaking to the Israeli TV Channel 2 News about Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s prospective speech in Congress, Lieberman said that Netanyahu is speaking too much about Iran instead of taking action.

Mocking Netanyahu’s ability to do something to curb Iran’s nuclear programme, Lieberman said: “We cannot even eliminate Hamas, how will we deal with the Iranian programme?”

Lieberman suggested that Netanyahu’s upcoming speech to Congress, in which he will warn against a “bad” nuclear deal with Iran, would lack significance. Too many speeches, Lieberman insisted, would “harm Israel’s deterrence.”

“When Menachem Begin decided to destroy the Iraqi nuclear reactor, there were no speeches, or public debate,” Lieberman recalled. “We woke up one morning – and there was no reactor.”

He said that the same had occurred in Syria. “One morning, we woke up and the nuclear reactor was not there. Without speeches and without stories.”

Lieberman expressed his doubts about an agreement between the West and Iran being able to stop Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons. He also stated that it is Israel’s responsibility to ensure Iran does not become a nuclear power.

“We need to make decisions and we cannot pin it on anyone, with all my appreciation for the United States,” Lieberman said. “We have to act firmly instead of moaning constantly. No agreement will prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons. We need to decide alone and to act accordingly.”