- Title: ISRAEL: Netanyahu says must strike hard at Hamas
- Date: 1st July 2014
- Summary: TEL AVIV, ISRAEL (JULY 1, 2014) (REUTERS) ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER, BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, AND DEFENSE MINISTER, MOSHE YAALON, ENTERING NEWS CONFERENCE (SOUNDBITE) (Hebrew) ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER, BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, SAYING: "Whoever was involved in the kidnapping and the murder will bear the consequences. We will neither rest nor slacken until we reach the last of them and i
- Embargoed: 16th July 2014 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Israel
- Country: Israel
- Topics: General
- Reuters ID: LVA9Z2BTBYJJ1QP5ZTE3MDMSO4N9
- Story Text: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday (July 1) told a news conference that Israel would not rest until it hard brought to justice those it considered responsible for the deaths of three kidnapped teenagers, affirming further action against Hamas operations in the West Bank.
Tens of thousands of mourners earlier joined in an outpouring of Israeli national grief at the burial of the teenagers, whose kidnapping and killing the country blamed on the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas.
Speaking at a news conference with Israeli Defence Minister Moshe Yaalon, Netanyahu said
"Whoever was involved in the kidnapping and the murder will bear the consequences," he told reporters.
"We will neither rest nor slacken until we reach the last of them and it does not matter where they will try to hide. We will reach them all, even if it takes time," he added.
Israel bombed dozens of sites in the Gaza Strip on Tuesday, wounding two Palestinians, striking at Hamas a day after finding the bodies of the three teenagers in the occupied West Bank, not far from where they went missing while hitchhiking on June 12.
Officials said ministers were split on Monday (June 30) on the scope of any further action in the coastal enclave or in the West Bank.
The United States and regional power-broker Egypt urged restraint.
Netanyahu has pledged Hamas would pay for the teens' slayings and would weigh further attacks to prevent rocket fire from Gaza on southern Israel.
"We must strike hard at Hamas' people and its infrastructure in the West Bank," he said.
"We have already arrested hundreds of Hamas activists. We have closed dozens of institutions. We have demolished homes. We are still active," he added.
The military said aircraft attacked 34 targets in Gaza, mostly belonging to Hamas, but did not link the strikes to the abductions, citing 18 Palestinian rockets launched against Israel from Gaza in the past two days.
Defence Minister Moshe Yaalon told the news conference further action should be expected.
"The operation against Hamas has not ended," Yaalon said.
"It will continue, we will continue to act against Hamas, to strike its people, at every opportunity and every place and the organisation will pay a heavy price for its actions," he added.
Netanyahu seized on the abduction to demand Abbas annul a reconciliation deal he reached with Hamas, his long-time rival, in April that led to a unity Palestinian government on June 2.
An Arab diplomat familiar with Egyptian mediation between Israel and the Palestinians said Cairo, echoing Washington, expected the Netanyahu government to tread carefully.
Abbas condemned the abduction and pledged the cooperation of his security forces, drawing criticism from Hamas and undercutting his popularity among Palestinians angered by what they saw as his collusion with Israel.
Hamas, which has maintained security control of the Gaza Strip since the unity deal, is shunned by the West over its refusal to renounce violence. The group has called for Israel's destruction, although various officials have at times indicated a willingness to negotiate a long-term ceasefire. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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