Gantz reveals he visited all Arab countries in secret

Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz revealed that he had visited all Arab countries “but in secret while carrying out military missions”, expressing his desire to visit them “publicly, officially, in a friendly and peaceful manner.”

In an interview with Asharq Al-Awsat, Gantz called on the Palestinian leadership and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to “join the peace process and not stay in the back lines”, emphasizing that “the Palestinians want and deserve an entity in the one to live independently. “

“Peace in the region will remain incomplete without the Palestinians,” he said, adding: “Israel also wants to separate from the Palestinians … and we want guarantees for our security. If we agree on security matters, the political solution will come. easily. And we will have to find not only solutions to problems. ” Rather, we should have deep cooperation in economics, science and technology, education and everything. This is a historic opportunity. “

He stressed that “Jerusalem must remain united. But there will be a place for a Palestinian capital. It is a very spacious city, full of sanctities for all,” and stressed that “Israel will not withdraw at the 1967 borders.”

He said: “I have spent some 38 years fighting in the Israeli army. And believe me, the army generals, who have seen and tasted the scourge of war, are the ones who want peace the most. Among our generals, I can confidently say. , that I am the one who most seeks peace “.

And he considered that “peace with the Arab countries is an alliance of moderate forces, which express the true desire of the citizens. Of course, we cannot ignore the existence of a countershaft, which is the Iranian axis that threatens Israel and all the Arabian countries”.

He added: “Let’s hope this axis reaches the necessary conclusion of the winds of peace, and it will also start to shift towards peace. But if it doesn’t, it will face regrettable consequences. Now it faces many difficulties. See how Syria, Lebanon or Iraq”. Or Libya or Yemen. This axis is being destroyed and we seek peace and prosperity for our peoples. But the most important thing is that we are going for alliances of peace and not war ”.

And internally, he responded to a question about whether Israel is heading into snap elections by saying: “Yes, it seems. As long as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is intransigent in his position and refuses to implement the promises he made and the agreements we have reached on On the basis of which we have established this government, the only form before us will be elections. “

Source: “Middle East”