Prime Minister Ariel Sharon earned praise from left-wing MKs such as Meretz\'s Zahava Gal\'on for remarks he made yesterday while visiting teenagers wounded in the Friday night Dolphinarium suicide slaughter in Tel Aviv. Sharon said, \"I am responsible for running this campaign, the responsibility for such is on my shoulders, and it is a hard campaign. I must take into account both the diplomatic and military considerations... We must see the entire picture. Restraint, too, is a component of strength.\"
Today, Sharon qualified this somewhat by saying that he is not conducting a policy of restraint but rather \"a policy designed to provide protection to the citizens of Israel.\" He rejected claims that he was sacrificing Israeli citizens for the sake of the country\'s public relations. Sharon admitted that as opposition head he expressed different opinions than those he holds now, but, \"I did that within the framework of my capacity as head of the opposition.\"
Minister Tzippy Livni was asked by Arutz-7 today: \"Do you agree with Prime Minister Sharon\'s statements that restraint is a component of strength? Why did he not say it during his election campaign?\" Her response:
\"I think that, until this past Shabbat [the day after the Dolphinarium slaughter], our policy of restraint was correct. We paid a high price, on the roads of Judea and Samaria and elsewhere, but it did bring us the benefit of great international pressure on Arafat, to which he is unfortunately more prone to listen than he is to our military responses. Starting from Shabbat, however, I think that we should have decided to react, but in this way: We should have started with some economic measures as well as some military measures of different levels, together with continued pressure on Arafat to order a ceasefire… My disagreement with Sharon is only on the message that Israel should be transmitting: we must make it clear that Israel will act at its convenience, and that Arafat should be in suspense, as should the rest of the world, as to when we will strike. This would be better than announcing in advance that we are waiting a day or two, or giving ultimatums, or the like, because as the days pass, it gets harder for us to actually carry out a military action.\"
Arutz-7\'s Ariel Kahane reports that an Israeli attack had actually been planned at the end of last week, in retaliation for the continuing killings on the roads of Yesha. It was going to involved Israeli Air Force planes, but because of the suicide attack in Tel Aviv, the situation changed, the Palestinians began to flee in expectation of a major retaliation, and Israel did not want to bomb empty buildings. Despite this, the planes were again put on the ready during the course of Shabbat, but again the action was stayed because of Arafat\'s ceasefire announcement.
Today, Sharon qualified this somewhat by saying that he is not conducting a policy of restraint but rather \"a policy designed to provide protection to the citizens of Israel.\" He rejected claims that he was sacrificing Israeli citizens for the sake of the country\'s public relations. Sharon admitted that as opposition head he expressed different opinions than those he holds now, but, \"I did that within the framework of my capacity as head of the opposition.\"
Minister Tzippy Livni was asked by Arutz-7 today: \"Do you agree with Prime Minister Sharon\'s statements that restraint is a component of strength? Why did he not say it during his election campaign?\" Her response:
\"I think that, until this past Shabbat [the day after the Dolphinarium slaughter], our policy of restraint was correct. We paid a high price, on the roads of Judea and Samaria and elsewhere, but it did bring us the benefit of great international pressure on Arafat, to which he is unfortunately more prone to listen than he is to our military responses. Starting from Shabbat, however, I think that we should have decided to react, but in this way: We should have started with some economic measures as well as some military measures of different levels, together with continued pressure on Arafat to order a ceasefire… My disagreement with Sharon is only on the message that Israel should be transmitting: we must make it clear that Israel will act at its convenience, and that Arafat should be in suspense, as should the rest of the world, as to when we will strike. This would be better than announcing in advance that we are waiting a day or two, or giving ultimatums, or the like, because as the days pass, it gets harder for us to actually carry out a military action.\"
Arutz-7\'s Ariel Kahane reports that an Israeli attack had actually been planned at the end of last week, in retaliation for the continuing killings on the roads of Yesha. It was going to involved Israeli Air Force planes, but because of the suicide attack in Tel Aviv, the situation changed, the Palestinians began to flee in expectation of a major retaliation, and Israel did not want to bomb empty buildings. Despite this, the planes were again put on the ready during the course of Shabbat, but again the action was stayed because of Arafat\'s ceasefire announcement.