Israel has "zero tolerance" for Hamas rocket fire - and should have the same policy for incitement from the Palestinian Authority (PA), Education Minister Naftali Bennett (Jewish Home) stated Sunday morning.
"We left Gaza ten years ago with the promise that Gaza will become Singapore," Bennett reflected, in an early-morning interview with Army Radio. "In practice it became Hamasstan, now we have to deal with rocket fire from Gaza."
"At this point, we have zero tolerance for any shooting."
"If they shoot from civilian areas, they are responsible for civilian casualties," he added. "They are shooting at us from Gaza - the blood is on Hamas's head and they are responsible for any harm to their own."
"That's the way it was during Protective Edge and that's the way it is now."
To that end, he said, the Cabinet is working to improve Israel's response to rocket attacks, as well as to terror in general.
"We are promoting a new policy of attack without leniencies," he said. "Under this policy we are passing a series of laws this morning [Sunday], including the denial of [terrorists'] pensions, a change in the rate of home demolitions, so that not only the room of the terrorist will be harmed, but also his parents'. Everything will be much quicker."
Abbas a "plucked chicken"
Bennett equally advocated a "zero-tolerance" policy vis-a-vis PA chairman Mahmoud Abbas.
"The root of this is the wave of incitement by Mahmoud Abbas, over his role in the Middle East," Bennett opined. "The security system is wrong in my opinion, I believe that Abbas plays an important role and I think he leads the international campaign in The Hague, the United Nations against Israel."
"There are facts, and then there is the interpretation of those facts," he continued. "I look at the system, the system which ties the IDF's hands, and the damage Abu Mazen [Abbas - ed.] causes is greater than his purpose."
"He was a chicken, and now he is a plucked chicken," he quipped. "I disagree with the view that he is a 'peace partner' and that we must appease him."
Education strike in Jerusalem
Bennett ended with a few notes about the current education strike in Jerusalem. On Saturday night, mayor Nir Barkat announced that schools in the capital would close at 1:30 pm Sunday over security concerns.
"The Ministry of Internal Security [Gilad Erdan - ed.] is in charge of security and I am working with the Minister to extend the working hours of security guards," Bennett promised. "Jerusalem has a unique problem."
"We need to find responsibility even though it is not the responsibility of the Ministry of Education; the Ministry of Education educates and the Ministry of Internal Security provides security guards."