Israeli government spokesperson Eylon Levy warned in a briefing to the Jerusalem Press Club on Tuesday that the destruction of Hamas is a “vital national security interest” for the nations of Europe as well as for the Arab world.
“Arab capitals, even those nations that are unable to speak openly in support of Israel’s campaign against Hamas, understand that this war has to end with the total defeat of Hamas. They understand Hamas within the Arab world as being an extension of the Iranian imperialist project together with Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Houthis in Yemen and the other militias in Iraq and the Assad regime (in Syria). They understand that it is part of Iran’s strategy of entrenching itself across the region, projecting its power and aggression.
“They also understand Israel has to end this war with defeat of Hamas in Europe as well as the United States and Canada. These nations understand that as grim as the images are on our screens right now from the fighting – fighting in a war I am surprised sometimes that I have to keep reminding people in every interview that Hamas STARTED the war, that Hamas has chosen to fight from densely populated areas. We didn’t choose the war. We didn’t choose the timing of the war. We definitely didn’t choose the battlefield.
They understand that the consequences of inaction would be much worse. That an army of terror cannot perpetrate an atrocity like it did on October 7th and get away with it because if it does that it emboldens Islamist extremists and terrorists all around the world to think that they can attack democratic states with impunity and get away with it.
Especially when we see expressions of sympathy on the streets of Western capitals in London, Paris, Berlin, people chanting ‘from London to Gaza we will have an intifada’ or ‘globalize the intifada’; this is a domestic extremism problem, calling for violence on the streets of Europe that would only gain encouragement and succor if this war ends with anything other than the total defeat of Hamas.”
