Steinitz stressed that Israel has been aware of offensive tunnels under the Gaza-Israel border for years, but refused to address questions about the reasons Israel chose to ignore them, saying only that the current military operation presented an opportunity to destroy them. He added that in the past, a major challenge from the international community to Israel was to allow cement into Gaza, something that Israel resisted for a long time.
“Now, we see,” Steinitz said. “Instead of using the raw material for classrooms or health clinics, they used them to build rockets and tunnels.
In closing, Steinitz said Palestinian Authority President Abu Mazen shares some responsibility for Palestinian war crimes as a senior member of the Palestinian Unity Government, but also mentioned that the rocket fire remains the sole responsibility of Hamas.
“Don’t forget, the original Oslo agreement specifies that all the Palestinian Authority area should be demilitarized. That agreement was signed by five people – President Bill Clinton, Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, Foreign Minister Shimon Peres, PLO leader Yasser Arafat – and Abu Mazen.
“And Abu Mazen also promised that once Israel left Gaza there would be no more hostilities between Gaza and Israel. So indirectly, perhaps, but yes -you cannot exonerate Abu Mazen totally from indirect responsibility for the rocket fire from Gaza.”