MK Eliyahu Gabbai (NU/NRP) warned Thursday that even verbal concessions are often seen as a sign of weakness and defeat by Israel's enemies. Gabbai noted that following Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's recent statement that “'Greater Israel' no longer exists,” Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Hizbullah head Hassan Nasrallah both gloated over what they saw as a sign of Israel's impending destruction.
Ahmadinejad and Nasrallah's statements should be taken as a warning, Gabbai said. “Even verbal concessions that were only meant to annoy the Israeli public are recorded and seen as a success in Tehran, Beirut, and Gaza,” he said.