Prime minister tells JewishAgency Board of Governors that without "robust, credible military threat, Iran won't stop its drive for nuclear weapons; calls on JAFI to extend chairman Sharansky's term another 4 years.Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu on Monday stated that sanctions on Iran wouldnot stop its nuclear program, pointing toNorth Koreaas an example of the failure of sanctions to halt a country's pursuit of nuclear weapons.
Speaking at a meeting of the Jewish Agency's Board of Governors in Jerusalem, Netanyahu stated that "sanctions need to be coupled with a robust, credible military threat. Only then will we have a chance to stop it."
Netanyahu charged that "Iran does not conceal its desire to destroy the Jewish state, and also to threaten the rest of the world."
He stated that a nuclear-armed Iran would turn the Middle East into a "nuclear tinderbox."
" I believe that stopping Iran is the number one task of anyone seeking peace and security in the world," the prime minister added. He stated that he had agreed with US President Barack Obama that Iran would be "topic number one" discussed by the leaders whenObama visits Israelnext month.
Netanyahu also discussed the peace process, stating that Israel supports peace, but not a "paper peace." He said that a demilitarized Palestinian state and mutual recognition by the sides were essential for real peace.
The prime minister called on the Palestinians to return to the negotiating table with no pre-conditions.
Netanyahu began his address by calling on the Jewish Agency Board of Governors to extend JAFI chairman Natan Sharansky's term for another four years.
He lauded Sharansky, saying, "when my generation earned their scars on the battlefield, you earned yours in Soviet dungeons."
By Jerusalem Post
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