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Handelszeitung: Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis said in Bern on Monday that Swiss law does not allow Hamas to be recognized as a terrorist organization. Your opinion on this?
Ifat Reshef: This is not a new argument. But I think everyone now knows what he is dealing with in Hamas. Hamas fighters are not freedom fighters, and, as I hope for the Palestinians, neither are those who represent them now or in the future. The Hamas fighters are brutal, murderous terrorists with the same values as the Islamic State in Syria (Isis). And that’s how they should be treated. Hamas is not only a danger to Israelis, as evidenced by the number of foreigners it has killed. The international community must take action now against their expansion.
Do you expect more from Switzerland?
Yes, both when it comes to Hamas and Hezbollah. These are dangerous terrorist organizations that must be stopped. There are certainly ways and options to treat them accordingly so that they cannot operate on European or even Swiss soil.
Such as, for example?
I leave that to the Swiss authorities, the parliament, the government. I don’t see myself in a position to say what the laws should be. As with Al Qaeda and Isis, the international community must agree on a common line. Individual countries would then have to adapt their case law to common principles.
Very diplomatic. Do you also react with caution when someone – like Center State Councilor Heinz Siegenthaler this week – says about Israelis that they live according to the “Old Testament according to the motto ‘an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth’”?
I do not comment on the statements of individual parliamentarians. There is no justification for the horror that occurred. Families were executed, parents were slaughtered and children were deported to Gaza. I think the entire civilized world is ashamed of calling Hamas for what it is: a murderous terrorist organization that endangers both Israelis and Palestinians.
How do you explain that despite all this, Israel still struggles to explain that it is not the aggressor?
There is certainly a vicious smear campaign against Israel from various quarters. But I don’t think it really works this time. We are currently receiving a lot of sympathy, solidarity and support. This is very important because Israel is now fighting to defend itself and its citizens. Our policy has always been and always will be that we do not expect others to fight our wars. We defend ourselves, using our own strength. But we expect understanding and solidarity, and the people of Israel are now in need.
The solidarity of the international community with Israel’s struggle for survival is not in question. Yet there is also criticism of individual military responses. The government not only attacked the Gaza Strip, but also completely closed it off and blocked the import of water and food. A taboo under international law that also endangers Israeli hostages.
This is a difficult dilemma. But we face a huge threat, an ongoing threat, that we must reduce. Wars are never pretty.
So you sacrifice your own people when necessary?
I’m not a commander and I don’t make these decisions. But in war, many difficult, heartbreaking decisions have to be made. I don’t know which one we should meet. What I know is: we have to hit Hamas quickly and hard, otherwise they will continue. And the international community must call on Hamas, as the de facto leadership of the Gaza Strip, to take responsibility for the lives of innocent people, women, children, men and the elderly. Even the Red Cross is not allowed to visit Israelis stuck there, including those with serious health problems. This shows that this is not a ‘normal’ conflict between two states. One side is a member of the United Nations, the other is a ruthless gang of murderers.
And it has access to aid funds, including from Switzerland.
That’s the irony. Israel has also helped promote projects with international and regional partners that should lead to significant improvements in Gaza’s civilian infrastructure and the economic situation of its citizens. At the same time, however, Hamas’s leadership planned to kill Israelis, realizing that this would drag Gaza into a new cycle of violence and bring harm and danger to its own citizens. Hamas is therefore actually committing a double war crime. It deliberately targets Israeli citizens and hides behind its own citizens. This must also stop in the interest of the civilians in Gaza.
Should Switzerland stop aid funds?
We are not against aid. But the use of the funds must be monitored and controlled so that the money goes not only to the terrorists, but also to the organizations that – as in the case of the Palestinian Authority – teach children to glorify terrorists so that they will follow them. their footsteps. Swiss taxpayers must be assured that their money is being used to build peace and to build and strengthen understanding between Israelis and Palestinians, and not the other way around.
They describe Israel as a player that has always done only the best for the people of the Gaza Strip. How do you explain that Hamas enjoys such strong support among the civilian population?
It is difficult and challenging to do all this in an area controlled by a terrorist organization that fires rockets into Israel every two or three years and sometimes even every two or three months – each time in greater numbers and sometimes with greater range. The people of Gaza need help. But this is only possible to a limited extent when such a government is in power. Not only did we work on solutions with various partners, we even tried it with Hamas itself. In recent months, a record number of Gazans have been able to come to Israel to work every day. And yet the attack began.
What scenarios do you see moving forward?
That’s very difficult to say. We are preparing for a long and hard battle. The only thing we know for sure at this point is that we have an enemy before us that we must contain. Because if we don’t, the threat this poses will continue to exist.
Do you expect a second front on the border with Lebanon because of Hezbollah?
I hope it doesn’t come to that. But if we do that, we will get through this. We have no other choice. Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad and of course Iran and Hezbollah, who provide them with money, weapons and military training, want to wipe out the Israeli state.
What would have to happen for a peace process and who could mediate in this case?
Hamas clearly has other interests at the moment. If you just killed 900 people in one day, you’re not going to sit at the negotiating table the next day. Now the Israeli army must counterattack.
Would Israel ever want to negotiate with Hamas again?
It’s too early to tell.
This article was first published in the paid service of Handelszeitung.ch. Blick+ users have exclusive access as part of their subscription. You can find more exciting articles at www.handelszeitung.ch.
This article was first published in the paid service of Handelszeitung.ch. Blick+ users have exclusive access as part of their subscription. You can find more exciting articles at www.handelszeitung.ch.
Relations between Israel and its neighbors have developed positively in recent years, partly thanks to the so-called Abraham Accords. What role do these relationships play in the current situation?
From my perspective, these neighboring countries are all shocked by the monstrous scale of the attack. However, the responses sound a bit more cautious, they mainly call for calm. But I don’t think the historical performance of the agreements is in question. The leaders of these countries, including Saudi Arabia, with which we do not yet have an official agreement, have realized that it is better to work together than against each other. We share challenges such as energy security and climate change, but also common enemies such as Iran, which threatens security throughout the region.
Israel is considered a startup country. But domestic political squabbles and anti-government protests in recent months have seen talent leave the country in droves and investors withdrawing money; The young companies would miss out on about 20 percent of the capital. The situation is likely to be exacerbated by the war. What does this mean for the Israeli economy?
Before the attack, the situation was certainly complicated. But the trend has already reversed. And we hope that new startups will emerge despite the war. We are an innovative country that does not change overnight. The many hubs still exist and there are numerous mechanisms to support young entrepreneurs.
What could also become more difficult is cooperation between the Swiss and Israeli armies. The Swiss military has purchased several military products from Israel and Israel has guaranteed to the Swiss military that Israel will carry out all necessary repairs and maintenance. Do you think that Israel can be a reliable partner under the current circumstances when it comes to the specific needs of the Swiss military, or is this a security risk?
We are still far from that. The Israeli security industry is known worldwide for its high quality and efficiency. I do not see that the military partnership with Switzerland could be jeopardized in any way.
Israel itself might need the material in the medium term and have a different focus. Maybe the money is gone. Then there is the brain drain. And all that technology clearly didn’t help Israel predict the attack either.
When the war is over, we will have to take a closer look at how it came to be. And what went wrong. But even though our history is full of chapters in which we have been threatened, the survival of the State of Israel is not in danger. We will also come out of this situation stronger than before.
Source: Blick
I am Amelia James, a passionate journalist with a deep-rooted interest in current affairs. I have more than five years of experience in the media industry, working both as an author and editor for 24 Instant News. My main focus lies in international news, particularly regional conflicts and political issues around the world.
