Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited communities in southern Israel, during which he declared that Jerusalem is “preparing for every scenario.” The Israeli leader noted, however, that while the Palestinian terror group Hamas is a greater threat than in the past, it “fully understands” the messages that Israel relays to it. That said, Netanyahu referred to Hamas as “a theological junta” that had taken over the Gaza Strip and remains committed to Israel’s destruction. Therefore, he emphasized that Hamas could not be a partner for dialogue about peace. Prime Minister Netanyahu also took the opportunity to reiterate his criticism of Israel’s disengagement from the Gaza Strip, which was executed during late Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon term, brought about a complete Israeli withdrawal from the enclave. Netanyahu referred to the Israeli disengagement as “sad, mistaken and tragic,” while pointing to the fact that before Israel’s withdrawal, there were only about 3,000 armed Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip, compared to its terror force of about 65,000, today.
