US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held a joint press conference in Israel yesterday, in which they threatened war on Iran, Hamas, Hezbollah and all the resistance movements in the region, and then on the UN and other international institutions.
Netanyahu spoke first, saying: ‘The Secretary and I also discussed how the many international institutions have been hijacked and turned into anti-American and anti-Israeli forums.
‘We see that in the UN General Assembly, the UN Human Rights Commission, where anti-Americanism is rampant and more resolutions are passed about Israel than the rest of the world combined.
‘And we see it especially, in the “lawfare” which is being waged against America and Israel in the ICC, the ICJ and elsewhere. The ICC has outrageously libelled Israel and issued arrest warrants based on utter lies.
‘Like America, Israel is not subject to the jurisdiction of the ICC and does not accept the court’s authority. Israel commends President Trump and his administration for restoring its executive order against the ICC and for moving quickly to sanction ICC officials.
‘The Secretary and I discussed working together to formulate a common strategy to deal with the threat of lawfare and neutralise this threat once and for all.
‘So these were some of the things we discussed today. Believe it or not there were more, many more. We can say that the Middle East today has many opportunities, many challenges and we believe that we can realise the opportunities and meet the challenges.
‘And I have no doubt that working together America and Israel will overcome the challenges and seize the opportunities. I have to say that I am absolutely confident that under President Trump’s leadership and working together with you Secretary Rubio, the best days of our lives are yet to come.’
Rubio responded: ‘The president has been very bold about his view of what the future for Gaza should be. Not the same tired ideas of the past, but something that’s bold and something that took courage and vision in order to outline.
‘It may have shocked and surprised many, but we cannot continue in the same cycle and repeat over and over again and wind up in the same place.
‘Related to that, the president has been very clear, Hamas cannot continue as a military or government force and frankly as long as it stands as a force that can govern, or as a force that can administer or as a force that can threaten by means of violence, peace becomes impossible. They must be eliminated, they must be eradicated.’
He went on to question the reliability of the new regime in Syria and to call for ‘a strong Lebanese state that can take on and disarm Hezbollah’.
He then went on to threaten war on Iran, saying: ‘The common theme in all these challenges is Iran. It’s the single, greatest source of instability in the region.’
He claimed: ‘Behind every terrorist group, behind every act of violence, behind every destabilising activity, behind everything that threatens peace and stability for the millions of people who call this region home, is Iran.’
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