by Erez Linn, News Agencies and Israel Hayom Staff
At foreign policy panel in London, PM Netanyahu says that once free of the 2015 deal's limitations, Iran "will have enough [fissile material] for a hundred bombs"
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Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu meets with British Prime
Minister Theresa May in
London, Thursday
Photo: Kobi Gideon / GPO
Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke out against the Iran nuclear deal at a
panel on Israel's foreign policy priorities at London's Chatham House
on Friday. The prime minister is in London to mark the centennial of the
Balfour Declaration, which officially recognized the Jewish people's
right to a national home in the land of Israel.
Asked if the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran is
the best possible option for reining in Iran's nuclear, Netanyahu
replied that "Iran bought a few years" with the agreement. He said that
once the restrictions placed on the Islamic republic as part of the deal
are removed, Iran "will have enough [fissile material] for a hundred
bombs within weeks if it decides to break out."
He said he appreciates U.S. President
Donald Trump's statement saying he believes Iran is the problem in the
Middle East, calling that a "big shift" in U.S. policy.
On the Israeli-Palestinian peace process,
Netanyahu said he hopes a U.S. peace initiative will work and praised
Trump for taking a fresh approach to bringing the Israelis and
Palestinians back to negotiations.
Asked if he felt that, given Trump's
involvement in peace efforts, now is the moment for peace in the region,
he said: "I hope so."
"What's being discussed now is an American
initiative. Obviously, we make our interests and our concerns known to
Mr. Trump. He's coming with a sort of refreshing 'can-do' [approach].
... They're trying to think out of the box," Netanyahu said.
Speaking with British Prime Minister
Theresa May in London on Thursday, Netanyahu said he was looking forward
to discussing "concrete ideas" with her for correcting the Iran
nuclear deal.
"The goal I have in mind is not keeping or
eliminating the deal, it's improving the deal and correcting its main
flaws. And I think those who want to keep the deal should cooperate in
correcting the deal," he said.
"There are great things that are happening
in the Middle East because many Arab countries now see Israel not as an
enemy, but as their indispensable ally in the battle against militant
Islam. The threat we all see is a resurgent Iran that is bent not only
on dominating the region, but bent on developing nuclear weapons."
Meanwhile, British and Israeli leaders
commemorated the Balfour Declaration's centennial with a banquet in the
gilded halls of London's Lancaster House on Thursday.
May and Netanyahu addressed guests at the
dinner, which was hosted by the descendants of Lord Arthur Balfour, then
Britain's foreign secretary, and the recipient of his declaration,
Jewish community leader Baron Walter Rothschild.
At the dinner, May rejected Palestinian calls for the U.K. to apologize for the declaration.
"When some people suggest we should
apologize for this letter, I say, absolutely not," she said. "We are
proud of our pioneering role in the creation of the State of Israel. We
are proud to stand here today, together with Prime Minister Netanyahu,
and declare our support for Israel. And we are proud of the relationship
we have built with Israel. And as we mark 100 years since Balfour, we
look forward to taking that relationship even further."
May rejected the BDS movement, saying,
"There can never be any excuse for boycotts, divestments or sanctions;
they are unacceptable." She called for "renewed resolve to support a
lasting peace that is in the interests of both Israelis and
Palestinians. There will need to be compromises from each side if we are
to have a realistic chance of achieving this goal – including an end to
the building of new settlements and an end to Palestinian incitement
too."
Netanyahu thanked May for inviting him to mark "with pride" a great historical event.
"The history of modern Zionism is
intertwined with the history of Britain, the actions and words of
Britain," he said. "It was the Balfour Declaration that galvanized
international support for Zionism as never before and paved the path for
Zionism's entry on the world stage. Now, a once stateless and powerless
people have found their rightful place among the nations.
"Prime Minister May, the Balfour
Declaration put Britain on the right side of history. In marking that
declaration today, you are keeping Britain on the right side of history.
On behalf of the government of Israel and the people of Israel, I thank
you."
He also thanked May for her "unequivocal denunciation" of anti-Semitism.
Netanyahu also said, "While we mark with
pride the Balfour Declaration today, Palestinian leaders call it a
tragedy. But the real tragedy of the Balfour Declaration is that it took
three decades to fulfill its promise – too late for one-third of the
Jewish people who perished in the Holocaust. Had Israel been established
in 1928 or 1938, and not in 1948, millions could have been saved. Some
people mistakenly believed that there is an Israel because of the
Holocaust. In fact, it's only because there was no Israel that the
Holocaust could occur, because there was no sovereign Jewish power to
protect the Jewish people or to provide refuge for the 6 million
murdered by the Nazis. "
Netanyahu said that now, a century after
the declaration, "Our two countries, our two democracies – Israel and
Britain – are strong allies and partners. We cooperate closely on
intelligence. We cooperate closely in the battle against terrorism. And
we’ve saved, through this cooperation, countless lives – British lives,
Israeli lives. We cooperate in cybersecurity, in technology, in business
and enterprise. We share the values of freedom and democracy and peace.
Israel is committed to peace, I’m committed to peace.
"A hundred years after Balfour, the
Palestinians should finally accept the Jewish national home and finally
accept the Jewish state. And when they do, the road to peace will be
infinitely closer. In my opinion, peace will be achievable."
Netanyahu's call appeared to fall on deaf
ears though, as Palestinians across Jerusalem, the West Bank and Gaza
Strip staged protests against the centennial celebrations on Thursday.
Protests in Ramallah and Jerusalem were
also attended by a group of British activists who marched from London to
Turkey where they boarded a flight to Israel to present to the British
Consulate General in Jerusalem with a 67-word "new Balfour Declaration,"
which they said calls for equal rights for Palestinians and Israelis.
In Jerusalem, protesters briefly clashed
with Israeli police in front of the British Consulate after a
Palestinian flag was raised.
Erez Linn, News Agencies and Israel Hayom Staff
Source: http://www.israelhayom.com/2017/11/03/pm-warns-iran-could-have-hundreds-of-nuclear-bombs-within-weeks/
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