Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman on Thursday admitted that despite his opposition to the move, he was forced to allow the transfer of Qatari fuel to the Gaza Strip by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
In an interview with Army Radio, Lieberman reluctantly admitted that Netanyahu "was exerting a lot of pressure to allow the fuel in." He said Netanyahu issued his directive in writing, thereby forcing Lieberman to all the transfer of the fuel.
According to Lieberman, senior defense figures, including in the military, the Shin Bet security agency, the National Security Council and the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories, supported the decision to allow fuel into the [Gaza] Strip."
"I don't want someone to say I didn't allow every stone to be turned to prevent a confrontation and for them not to say that Avigdor Lieberman, because of his own personal agenda, is dragging the entire State of Israel into a conflict with Hamas."
On Twitter some two weeks ago, Lieberman wrote that "as long as the violence in the Gaza Strip does not completely stop, the supply of fuel and gas to the Gaza Strip will not be renewed."
Meanwhile, following Israeli airstrikes on Gaza in response to a rocket fired at the south, defense officials were bracing for more riots on the Gaza-Israel border. The assessment is that Friday's protests would be less violent than previous weeks.
Motti Blumenfeld, who resides in Kibbutz Urim and heard the sirens when the rocket was launched from Gaza Wednesday night, said, "We have no security room, so we have nowhere to run."
"They're opening the border to goods despite the fact that the entire Gaza periphery is in chaos. When they shoot at Beersheba, we close the border crossings, but when they fire at the Gaza periphery, we open them. It's not clear to us just how this method works."
Lieberman commented on the matter during his Army Radio interview.
"From my standpoint at least, it is certain, we cannot avoid a confrontation with Hamas. I listen to the Hamas chiefs, and unfortunately, I admit it, I believe them, and they are clearly saying – neither the fuel nor the salaries will calm tensions. We want an end to the blockade," in other words, the ability to freely bring in weapons and Iranian Hezbollah members. And that, of course, is impossible."
While Lieberman said Israel must make every effort to prevent a conflict from breaking out, he cautioned, "Those who think they can placate Hamas with salaries or fuel are wrong."
In a statement, the Prime Minister's Office said the decision to allow the transfer of fuel was "reached at the recommendation of security officials."
