JERUSALEM (JTA) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called “power” the key to foreign policy in a closed-door meeting.
“Power is the most important [component] of foreign policy,” Netanyahu said Monday during a Likud faction meeting. His remarks were quoted first by Army Radio on Monday and then by the daily newspaper Yediot Acharonot on Tuesday.
“‘Occupation’ is bull. There are countries that have conquered and replaced entire populations and the world keeps silent. Strength is the key, it makes all the difference in our policy towards the Arab world,” he also reportedly said.
Netanyahu also said that concessions, presumably such as giving up land, look like weakness when dealing with Arabs. He said such concessions only bring short-term changes.
He said progress in peace talks would only be made through “common interests which are based on technological strength.”
