PIECE WITHOUT PRECONDITIONS...

-Last month was marked by a new spiral of tension in the Palestine-Israel conflict. And although emotions have cooled somewhat, no-one is ruling out the possibility of further clashes. What is happening in Gaza?

- A truce has been reached between Israel and Hamas with the mediation of Egypt. Cairo mediated the cease-fire.

- What, from Israel's point of view, was the reason for the new upsurge in the Arab-Israeli conflict?

- Israel does not accept air strikes on its territory from Gaza, where there have appeared Iranian missiles that reached the central and even northern parts of the country. The Israeli military had to strike the areas where these missiles are stored. All the actions of Hamas aimed to kill civilians, which was the main cause of the Israeli military operation in the past two weeks.

- The reports from Gaza often show civilian casualties, destroyed homes and buildings. The impression is that Israel is not acting selectively either?

- Let's start with the fact that all the rocket attacks from Gaza targeted civilian neighbourhoods and Israeli civilians. The Israeli army targeted military installations, military groups of Hamas and other terrorist groups in Gaza. The fact that the militants are hiding behind women, children and civilians shows their cowardice and lack of respect for the lives of the people of Gaza. Israel was able to cause significant damage to the entire terrorist network in the Palestinian Authority, and it is a guarantee that next time, they will "think twice" before attacking Israel. We have made it clear to these organizations that Israel will not tolerate attacks on its territory. This is a great deterrent.

- Soon, the outcome of the international examination of the remains of the late PLO leader Yasser Arafat will become known. What will happen if it turns out that Arafat was poisoned?

- The exhumation of the remains of Yasser Arafat has ended. As for the examination, any nuclear scientist from the International Institute of Physics will say that the examination in this case cannot be objective and realistic. In this case, there is more secrecy and populism rather than real facts that can be verified. Israel has no connection with these events. So I don't think that the announcement of the results of the examination of the late PLO leader's remains will affect the situation in the region in any way.

- Do you think that Israel should withdraw to the 1967 borders for the sake of peace and reconciliation in the Middle East?

- The principle of "land for peace" has become problematic in many ways. Israel has repeatedly urged the Palestinian Authority to begin peace negotiations without preconditions. But the Palestinian side proposes conditions for the negotiations related to the controlled areas. We must understand that the Palestinian Authority is divided. On the one hand, it is Gaza ruled by Hamas and other terrorist organizations, and on the other, it is Samaria ruled by Fatah. To date, Israel does not have a single partner with whom it could negotiate. There is no organization that would represent all Palestinians. At the same time, Fatah broke all the agreements that were signed with Israel, although we carefully followed all the clauses of the agreements. The agreements state that Palestinians cannot take any unilateral action. Nevertheless, they unilaterally declare a Palestinian state, demand status at the UN, etc. Today it is important that the Palestinians introduce a certain order in the autonomy to make it possible to develop the economic sphere. And Israel has expressed willingness to help in this matter. But, apparently, they are more interested in political and physical terror than improving the lives of the Palestinians. Note that Palestinian leaders often speak of poverty in the autonomy, unpaid salaries of officials, and at the same time, they buy planes for personal use, and their accounts in European banks become known. Israel has always offered to assist in the construction of infrastructure and economic development of the autonomy. But the priority for the people who run it is to commit acts of provocation and set the poor population of the autonomy against their neighbours. Despite this, I must say again, Israel is willing to negotiate, but without preconditions.

- So who does Israel have to deal with - Hamas or Fatah?

- No negotiations are possible with Hamas. The charter of this organization states the goal - the destruction of Israel. As for Fatah, this organization will have to deal with peaceful construction. The way they are going now had been taken by their leaders for decades in the past, and as you know, it led nowhere. Israel's position is clear to international organizations, the United States and other countries. The Palestinian Authority, in the position in which it is now, cannot dictate terms.