Housing Minister Natan Sharansky (Yisrael B\'Aliyah), visiting in Arutz-7 studios today, said, \"The country is essentially in a state of war, but we many here seem to prefer not to see it that way.\" Arutz-7\'s Haggai Segal asked Sharansky what exactly did the cabinet meeting resolve at its emergency meeting this past Tuesday night. Sharansky responded,
\"Firstly, it was decided to remove the restrictions on the IDF that had been placed upon it for the ceasefire; everything is now back to the way it was before the ceasefire. Prime Minister Sharon emphasized to the Chief of Staff that he may use any means he deems necessary to fight the war against terrorism. The second thing that was decided was to firmly demand that the U.S. add Islamic Jihad, Hizbullah, and Hamas to the list of terrorist organizations.\"
Sharansky said that it is hard for Israel to make such a demand unless \"we show that we are investing all our efforts into fighting terrorism at home... As it is now, we have some people who say that Arafat is a partner, or a half-partner… There are those in our government who say that the U.S. is not interested in fighting [Palestinian terrorism] - but I say that in order to get the U.S. to fight without compromise, we ourselves have to take a clear stand.\"
MK Benny Elon (National Union-Yisrael Beiteinu) says that he is determined to quit the coalition if Ariel Sharon allows Peres to meet Arafat one more time. Such a meeting is currently planned for the day after Sukkot, Oct. 10. He said that he would resign even if his party as a whole does not do so. Sharansky said that he greatly respects Elon, but feels that threats to break up the national unity government are not the proper way to deal with the matter.
Entertainer Sefi Rivlin has quit the Likud. Rivlin, who appeared in Likud campaign broadcasts in the past, explained that Prime Minister Sharon\'s consent to allow Foreign Minister Peres to meet with Arafat was the straw that broke the camel\'s back for him.
\"Firstly, it was decided to remove the restrictions on the IDF that had been placed upon it for the ceasefire; everything is now back to the way it was before the ceasefire. Prime Minister Sharon emphasized to the Chief of Staff that he may use any means he deems necessary to fight the war against terrorism. The second thing that was decided was to firmly demand that the U.S. add Islamic Jihad, Hizbullah, and Hamas to the list of terrorist organizations.\"
Sharansky said that it is hard for Israel to make such a demand unless \"we show that we are investing all our efforts into fighting terrorism at home... As it is now, we have some people who say that Arafat is a partner, or a half-partner… There are those in our government who say that the U.S. is not interested in fighting [Palestinian terrorism] - but I say that in order to get the U.S. to fight without compromise, we ourselves have to take a clear stand.\"
MK Benny Elon (National Union-Yisrael Beiteinu) says that he is determined to quit the coalition if Ariel Sharon allows Peres to meet Arafat one more time. Such a meeting is currently planned for the day after Sukkot, Oct. 10. He said that he would resign even if his party as a whole does not do so. Sharansky said that he greatly respects Elon, but feels that threats to break up the national unity government are not the proper way to deal with the matter.
Entertainer Sefi Rivlin has quit the Likud. Rivlin, who appeared in Likud campaign broadcasts in the past, explained that Prime Minister Sharon\'s consent to allow Foreign Minister Peres to meet with Arafat was the straw that broke the camel\'s back for him.