Housing and Construction Minister Yoav Galant was interviewed by the Jerusalem Post chief editor Yaakov Katz at the IAC (Israel American Council) conference and said that the situation in which Israel's friends and enemies are fighting together against their common enemy ISIS is dangerous to Israel, since in the course of their fighting they share information, military techniques, and technology.
"In any solution which may develop, we must ensure that Iran does not have a hegemony over the area. Iran and Hizbullah must be isolated from the rest of the Western world. It must be clearly emphasized that Iran is not part of the regional solution," said Galant.
With reference to the southern area, Galant said that "Our strategic interest in the Gaza strip is peace, disarmament and the removal of responsibility from Israel. We need to find a solution which will improve the economic situation and standard of living in Gaza, and therefore I am in favor of creating an artificial island with a harbor connecting it to Gaza which can be inspected at all times and will maintain Israel's security requirements."
Galant also stressed that Israel has a moral obligation to return the missing soldiers Hadar Goldin and Oron Shaul to Israel.
In reference to Israel's success as a "start-up nation," Galant said that the Jewish spirit and the Israeli determination were the answer to the difficult situations which Israel has faced in the past and may need to face in the future.
The Israeli-American Council (IAC), is an organization that has as its mission statement the effort "to build an engaged and united Israeli-American community that strengthens the Israeli and Jewish identity of our next generations, the American Jewish community, and the bond between the peoples of the United States and the State of Israel."