'PALESTINIANS CAN'T SPEAK FOR GAZA'

Amid the potentially epoch-defining war in Gaza, Israel’s Ambassador to India Naor Gilon speaks to The Sunday Standard

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AS non-governmental opinion across the world begins to shift in the face of Israel’s unrelenting bombardment-cum-blockade of Gaza — which has killed well over 4,000 so far, including in a disputed but devastating airstrike on a hospital — Israeli diplomacy is keen to retain the moral legitimacy that it derived for its actions from the original Hamas attack of October 7. Peace and coexistence can be given a chance only after the military operation is over, says Israel’s ambassador to India Naor Gilon. “There can be no discussions when we are threatened. Only after we eliminate Hamas will we consider other options,” he asserted during the 7th edition of Delhi Dialogues. Excerpts:

Santwana Bhattacharya: How would you describe the current situation and how long-drawn is this war/ conflict going to be?

We will have to go two weeks back to know what happened on October 7. Unlike earlier, it wasn’t just a skirmish. The atrocities were a game-changer from the Israeli point of view. There was a collapse of our conceptual approach towards Hamas — Hamas ISIS. Close to 7,000 rockets were fired. They started it and crossed the border under the bombing and killed whoever they saw; 1,400 people have died, 3,000 wounded and 200 kidnapped. As many as 260 youngsters were killed in the midst of a party.

This is worse than 9/11. Israel cannot afford to live in this condition. In 2005 more than 10,000 Jews lived in Gaza when the Palestinian Authority was in power. A year later Hamas came to power and did nothing for the welfare of Palestine. People from Gaza went to work in Israel and earned their livelihood. We thought that this would deter them from attacking us. That was a huge mistake.