Speaking at a faction meeting of Yisrael Beytenu lawmakers on Monday, Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman said the defense establishment won’t abandon anyone in southern Israel as it formulates policy for dealing with Gaza terrorists.
Liberman said hundreds of incendiary terror kites — 400 to 600 of them, specifically — have been intercepted by IDF soldiers over the past two months, adding those that managed to slip past the defensive interceptions damaged 9,000 dunams of agricultural crops and forestland.
“We should be clear that we’re not prepared to accept these kites becoming the norm,” Liberman said at the meeting, according to Ynet. “The same applies for riots at the security fence, and attempts to breach the border and cause damage to the sovereign territory of Israel.
“That’s why we will act in accordance with Israeli interests in time and at a time that suits us, whenever we decide,” Liberman warned. “In any event, I am not accustomed to leaving scores unsettled and we’ll settle all scores with Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad.”
With regard to the residents of the Gaza Belt region, Liberman said that he has spoken with the heads of the regional council districts, and said “I think they understand our moves.
“We speak with them every day, as does the IDF chief of staff and the GOC of Southern Command,” he said. “They know exactly what we’re doing and like I said, we won’t abandon anyone.”