Netanyahu calls Paris conversation with Putin 'very important'
'The conversation with President Putin was good and businesslike,' PM Netanyahu tells reporters after WWI commemorations in Paris; adds he seeks to prevent unnecessary war in Gaza.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin at World War I commemorations on Sunday, their first meeting since the downing of a Russian plane during an Israeli air raid in Syria in September.
"The conversation with President Putin was good and businesslike. I would even describe it as very important," Netanyahu told reporters after the ceremony in Paris, adding that he also spoke there with US President Donald Trump.
Moscow said last month it had delivered S-300 surface-to-air missiles to Syria, where Israel has struck Iranian targets.
The missile shipment came after Russia, a main backer of the Damascus government, accused Israel of indirectly causing the downing of a Russian military jet by Syrian air defaces following an Israeli air strike nearby.
Netanyahu stressed he had spoken with additional world leaders. "I think the manner in which we were received here is very important to the State of Israel and to its international interests.
"The interesting thing is that African leaders are speaking about the importance of cooperating with Israel and how it can benefit their countries. There is no dispute that Israel is a rising power, and the proof of that is Paris," the premier elaborated.
The Israeli leader also said he favored reaching an "arrangement" that would avoid an all out war with Gaza and stave off a deepening humanitarian crisis.
"The Security Cabinet, following my recommendation, set a goal to restore the situation in Gaza to March 29, when Gaza was provided with electricity and salaries were paid. The lack of electricity and money is leading to a collapse in many areas, including the health system," he explained.
Netanyahu added that "the Qatari money transferred to Gaza must be supervised. I hope the supervision mechanism will improve with time. We are allowing the renewal of conditions in the strip before March 30.
"I'm not afraid of a necessary war, but seeking to avoid it if it's not necessary. We want to achieve calm, and if possible an agreement.
"this is what leaders should do: find the way to security, prevent humanitarian collapse and unnecessary wars. Will we succeed? It's too soon to tell.
Addressing Operation Protective Edge, the Israeli leader said that the 2014 military campaign in Gaza fended off a Hamas offensive. "Hamas's strategy was based on terror tunnels as well as on aerial, naval, and ground military plans, and we just beat them to it."
I think Hamas was wrong. Gaza's internal volatility, which we are able to prevent, is the one causing unrest, and not a change in the deterrence balance.
On Friday, Israel allowed $15 million of Qatari cash to enter the Gaza Strip, which is controlled by the terror organization. Egypt, Qatar and the United Nations have been trying to broker a long-term ceasefire between Hamas and Israel.
