Likud's leader calls for 'removal' of Hamas
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Benjamin Netanyahu, the opposition leader, yesterday said Hamas should be "removed" from the Gaza Strip.
Mr Netanyahu, the leader of the right-wing Likud Party who until recently enjoyed a strong lead in the opinion polls for next month's general election, said Hamas was controlled by Iran and declared that it should "ultimately be removed".
"Hamas is at the service of Iran and militant Islam," he said.
Mr Netanyahu, who was prime minister between 1996 and 1999, may return to power at the elections due on February 10. The present coalition government has not committed itself to the removal of Hamas, which has controlled Gaza since June 2007.
Mr Netanyahu pointed to intelligence estimates that Iran would be able to develop a nuclear weapon in two years and predicted that Tehran would use Hamas to attack Israel.
"If Iran has nuclear weapons then a forward base like 'Hamastan' in Gaza becomes 10 times more dangerous. They openly proclaim their intention of using these weapons against us," he said. But Mr Netanyahu refrained from saying that "removing" Hamas should be the aim of the present offensive in Gaza. So far, the security cabinet has refrained from authorising "phase three" of the Gaza operation. (© Daily Telegraph, London)
- Damien McElroy in Jerusalem
