Rebuffing Iran, Netanyahu says strength is protecting Israel

Feb 5, 2012, 13:12 GMT

Jerusalem - Iran's latest verbal threats to Israel and civil conflict in the Middle East underscore the need for Israel to be strong and tough, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday.

'In the past days we have been reminded of the environment we live in. We've heard the Iranian leader's statement about Israel's destruction. We've seen the Syrian army slaughter its people. We've seen other bloodshed in our region,' Netanyahu told his cabinet.

'Various leaders have no moral inhibitions whatsoever to kill their own people or their neighbours. In such a region, only strength guarantees our existence, our security and our prosperity,' he said.

'We are committed to continuing to nurture Israel's military, economic and social prowess.'

During Friday prayers Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei had said that 'the Zionist regime (Israel) is a cancerous tumour and should be removed and it will be removed.'

'We are not interfering anywhere, but we are not afraid to say that we support any group or country which is against the Zionist regime,' Khamenei said. Iran, he warned, would not retreat from its nuclear programme, despite Western sanctions.

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