«I am deeply sorry that something like this happened. You always look back and wonder if we could have done something to have prevented it ." Thus Israeli Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu regarding the October 7 massacre by Hamas that cost the lives of 1,200 people.

In an interview with Time, he was asked if he planned to apologize for the failures that led to that attack. The American magazine in its introduction recalled that in the first 10 months of the war in Gaza, Netanyahu always refused to apologize for having left Israel vulnerable to an attack of that magnitude . And the first question of the long interview was precisely whether he was willing to apologize. "Excuse me? Certainly".

“Being destroyed has larger implications for Israel's security. I'd rather have bad publicity than a good obituary" he then clarified in response to those who accuse him of prolonging the war in Gaza to stay in power. “Our goal is to completely destroy Hamas's military and government capabilities,” the prime minister added.

For Gaza's future without Hamas, Netanyahu sees " a civilian administration run by Gazans, perhaps with the support of regional partners ." Demilitarization by Israel, civil administration by Gaza."

According to Time, Netanyahu admitted that he had no interest in the birth of a Palestinian state, but at most he imagined limited areas of autonomy in which Israel maintains security control, in fact like the current situation in the West Bank .

“I don't want to incorporate the Palestinians in Judea and Samaria as citizens of Israel,” the prime minister said, referring to the biblical name for the West Bank. “They should manage their own lives. They should vote for their own institutions. They should have their own self-government. But they shouldn't have the power to threaten us."

As for his political future, over which looms the growing protest of the Israeli people, Netanyahu once again presents himself as the man who can guarantee that Zionism survives the war, writes Time. "He will if we win." And "I will remain in office as long as I believe I can help guide Israel towards a future of lasting security and prosperity", says the prime minister.

(Unioneonline/vl)

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