Israel will do ‘whatever we need to do to defend ourselves’ against Iran, Netanyahu says
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has told Sky News he will do “whatever we need to do to defend ourselves” against Iran – and diplomacy has failed to stop Tehran from developing its nuclear capabilities.
Speaking exclusively at the prime minister’s offices in Jerusalem, Mr Netanyahu rejected US attempts to resolve the growing crisis only through dialogue.
“I don’t think that diplomacy by itself will work. I think diplomacy can only work if it’s coupled with a credible military threat or the willingness to apply the military option if deterrence fails,” he said.
“Iran is openly committed to destroying, repeating the Holocaust and destroying the six or seven million Jews of Israel and we’re not going to sit by, idly by and let them do it.
“(If) these Ayatollahs think that they could threaten us with a nuclear holocaust they’re wrong. We will do whatever we need to do to defend ourselves.”
During the interview, Mr Netanyahu sent a message to Saudi Arabia and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman as rumours of a peace deal between the countries continue to circulate.
“Our hand is extended to all Arab States and certainly to Saudi Arabia which is vitally important,” he said.
“We have great opportunities to advance the peace in our region, peace between our two countries, the wellbeing of our peoples. I think it would change history.
“I mean we have already made one historic turning point with the four peace treaties of The Abraham accords which Israel made under my leadership with UAE (United Arab Emirates), with Bahrain, with Morocco, with Sudan.
“Obviously Saudi Arabia would be a quantum leap forward because it’s the most influential Arab country not only in the Arab world I think also in the Muslim world, so it would fashion I think the possibility of ending the Arab-Israeli conflict, and I think that it would also help us solve the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.”
Protests in Tel Aviv
Mr Netanyahu was also challenged on domestic issues – including the controversial judicial reforms that have divided Israel and seen 22 continuous weeks of mass protests.
He was forced to halt the process after the country came to a standstill following his sacking of the defence minister, who was later quietly reinstalled. Compromise negotiations are now taking place to find an agreement.
“It seems to me we have a situation where there is now a fairly broad majority that says we have to reform our judicial system, but the question is how much and how fast? And that is something that I decided in the wake of ensuing months to try and get a consensus,” he said.
“I’m not sure we will get one. We have to bring it into a happy middle, it’s going to be very hard because it’s extremely politicised and often misrepresented.”
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The proposed reforms have attracted public criticism from international allies, including the US. President Joe Biden openly chided the Israeli leader, saying to the American media in March “they cannot continue down this road”.
There has been a significant impact on Israel’s economy, with investors spooked by the proposed reforms – the shekel has fallen by about 5.5% against the dollar, investment in the prided tech industry is down 70% in the first quarter of 2023 compared with 12 months ago, and the credit ratings agency Fitch recently warning Israel that its A+ rating was at risk.
Mr Netanyahu dismissed the concerns: “I don’t think the economy is the problem, I think political consensus is the problem.
“There’s a vast misrepresentation about what we’re doing, everybody’s adding to it, saying we’re going to take away the independence of the court – no we’re not. I’m not going to let that happen.
“It’s important to understand Israel’s economy is very powerful and it’s going to remain powerful because it’s a high tech economy in a high tech world.”
Benjamin Netanyahu and Joe Biden. File pic: AP
2023 has been one of the most violent years between Palestinians and Israelis for decades, including a recent conflict between the Gaza-based Islamic Jihad militants and Israel that lasted five days.
Additionally, the Netanyahu government has approved the building of about 7,000 new settlement homes in the occupied West Bank since the start of the year, a practice considered illegal under international law and by most governments.
The prime minister described as “completely false” a recent statement by the US State Department condemning the building of a Jewish religious school on West Bank land as “violating Israel’s commitment to the Biden administration”.
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“For God sake, this is the land of Israel, it’s our country, so I completely disagree with that, but I think one thing is true – the Palestinians are here and we’re not going to push them out, we’re here and they’re not going to push us out.”
Mr Netanyahu did however commit to preserving the fragile ‘status quo’ at the holy Muslim site in Jerusalem, al Aqsa Compound, known to Jews as The Temple Mount, despite a recent visit by his far-right nationalist interior minister, Itamar Ben Gvir.
“The Temple Mount the status quo sacrosanct, we’re not changing it. I don’t care what anybody says, we’re keeping the status quo and ultimately overtime people will judge it and they will see it hasn’t changed, and won’t change,” he said.
In mid-May, the World Health Organisation assessed that there were “nearly half a million people in a catastrophic situation of hunger, acute malnutrition, starvation, illness and death”.
“This is one of the world’s worst hunger crises, unfolding in real time,” its report concluded.
Warning: This article contains images of an emaciated child which some readers may find distressing
Israel‘s decision this week to reverse the siege and allow “a basic level of aid” into Gaza should help ease the immediate crisis.
But the number of aid trucks getting in, so far fewer than 100 per day, is considered dramatically too few by aid organisations working in Gaza, and the United Nations accuses Israel of continuing to block vital items.
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“Strict quotas are being imposed on the goods we distribute, along with unnecessary delay procedures,” said UN secretary general Antonio Guterres in New York on Friday.
“Essentials, including fuel, shelter, cooking gas and water purification supplies, are prohibited. Nothing has reached the besieged north.”
Nineteen of Gaza’s hospitals remain operational, all of them are overwhelmed with the number of patients and a lack of supplies.
Baby Aya at Rantisi hospital in northern Gaza is dangerously thin
“Today, we receive between 300 to 500 cases daily, with approximately 10% requiring admission. This volume of inpatient cases far exceeds the capacity of Rantisi hospital, as the facility is not equipped to accommodate such large numbers,” Jall al Barawi, a doctor at the hospital, told us.
At least 94% of the hospitals have sustained some damage, some considerable, according to the UN.
Jall al Barawi, a doctor at Rantisi hospital
Paramedic crews are close to running out of fuel to drive ambulances.
The lack of food, after an 11-week blockade, has left thousands malnourished and increasingly vulnerable to surviving injuries or recovering from other conditions.
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Children are the worst affected.
Our team in Gaza filmed with baby Aya at the Rantisi hospital in northern Gaza. She is now three months old and dangerously thin.
Her skin stretches over her cheekbones and eye sockets on her gaunt, pale face. Her nappy is too big for her emaciated little body.
Aya’s nappy is too big for her emaciated little body.
Lethal spiral
Her mother Sundush, who is only 19 herself, cannot get enough food to produce breastmilk. Baby formula is scarce.
Aya, like so many other young children, cannot get the vital nutrition she needs to grow and develop.
It’s a lethal spiral.
This is what Aya looked like shortly after she was born
“My daughter was born at a normal weight, 3.5kg,” Sundush tells us.
“But as the war went on, her weight dropped significantly. I would breastfeed her, she’d get diarrhoea. I tried formula – same result. With the borders closed and no food coming in, I can’t eat enough to give her the nutrients she needs.”
“I brought her to the hospital for treatment, but the care she needs isn’t available.
“The doctor said her condition is very serious. I really don’t want to lose her, because I lost my husband and she’s all I have left of him. I don’t want to lose her.”
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Aya and her mother Sundush
Some of the aid entering Gaza now is being looted. It is hard to know whether that is by Hamas or desperate civilians. Maybe a combination of the two.
The lack of aid creates an atmosphere of desperation, which eventually leads to a breakdown in security as everyone fights to secure food for themselves and their families.
Only by alleviating the desperation can the security situation improve, and the risk of famine abate.
World
Police launch ‘major operation’ after 12 people injured in knife attack at Hamburg train station
Twelve people are reported to have been injured after a knife attack at Hamburg’s central train station.
A “major operation” has been launched and a suspect was arrested, police said in a post on X.
The identity of the suspect has not been revealed.
Reports in Germany said the suspected attacker was a woman.
The fire service said six of the injured were in a life-threatening condition, three others were seriously hurt, and another three sustained minor injuries, news agency dpa reported.
Bild newspaper said the motive for the attack was so far unknown.
Hamburg is Germany’s second biggest city, with the train station being a hub for local, regional and long-distance trains.
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The man suspected of shooting dead two Israeli embassy workers in Washington DC leaned over and fired at them repeatedly after they fell to the ground, the FBI has said.
Elias Rodriguez, 31, has been charged with murdering Sarah Milgrim and her boyfriend Yaron Lischinsky, after they left an event at the Capital Jewish Museum on Wednesday night.
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Footage has showed Rodriguez, from Chicago, chanting “free, free Palestine” as he was arrested.
It later emerged Mr Lischinsky had bought a ring and planned to propose to Ms Milgrim.
Authorities are investigating the killings as both a hate crime against the Jewish community and terrorism.
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‘I did it for Gaza’
It comes as the FBI has said in a charging document on Thursday that surveillance footage shows how Ms Milgrim and Mr Lischinsky died.
Rodriguez is allegedly seen passing the couple after they left the museum before shooting them in the back.
The FBI says the footage then shows him leaning over the couple and firing at them several more times after they fell to the ground.
The video then shows Ms Milgrim attempting to crawl away before “(Rodriguez) followed behind her and fired again”, the charging document says.
The suspected gunman is then accused of reloading his weapon and firing at Ms Milgrim as she sat up.
According to the charging document, Rodriguez then jogged to the museum and once inside asked to speak to a police officer before stating that he “did it” and that he was unarmed.
He is then said to have told police: “I did it for Palestine, I did it for Gaza, I am unarmed.”
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The court document also states that 21 expended 9mm bullet cases were found at the scene and the gun was slide-locked – meaning it was empty of ammunition.
An empty gun magazine was also recovered from the scene.
The FBI says it has obtained travel records which show Rodriguez flew from Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport to the Reagan National in Washington DC on Tuesday with the gun in his checked baggage.
Rodriguez had bought the weapon in the state of Illinois on 6 March 2020, according to the charging document.
The FBI has said that while Rodriguez was in custody he “expressed admiration” for a US Air Force member who set himself on fire in front of the Israeli embassy in Washington DC on 25 February 2024.
Aaron Bushnell died in the apparent act of protest against the war in Gaza.
Rodriguez also told police he bought a ticket to the museum around three hours before the event that was attended by Ms Milgrim and Mr Lischinsky.
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During a brief court appearance at the E. Barrett Prettyman Federal Courthouse in Washington DC today, Rodriguez was charged with two counts of first degree murder and with the murder of foreign officials.
He has also been charged with causing the death of a person through the use of a firearm and discharge of a firearm during a crime of violence.
Rodriguez was told he could face life in prison or the death penalty if he is found guilty.
He remained calm throughout the hearing, paying attention to the proceedings throughout and confirmed that he is asking the court to appoint an attorney on his behalf.
He will next appear at a federal court in Washington DC on 18 June.
Murdered couple ‘were perfect for each other’
Meanwhile, Ms Milgrim’s father, Robert, says he feared his daughter might be in danger when he saw news alerts of a fatal shooting in Washington DC.
Ms Milgrim’s mother Nancy opened a phone locator app and saw Ms Milgrim was at the Capital Jewish Museum.
“Shortly after that, the Israeli ambassador called us on my wife’s phone,” Mr Milgrim told Sky News’ partner network NBC News, fighting back tears.
He added that it was the ambassador who told them Mr Lischinksy had bought a ring and was planning to propose to Ms Milgrim.
“They were perfect for each other, he said.
Mr Milgrim continued: “They just brought us joy, and her memory, which is a blessing, will continue to bring us joy – but it’s not the same as her not being here.”
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