Israeli FM Gideon Sa'ar: 'I hope Iran will not make the mistake of attacking us'

In an interview with FRANCE 24, Israel's Minister of Foreign Affairs Gideon Sa’ar addressed the resumption in fighting between the US and Iran, and warned that any Iranian attack on Israel would trigger a "severe" response. He also accused Tehran of continuing to pursue "nuclear weapons aspirations", claiming that Israel "will not allow" Iran to achieve them. 

As fighting resumes between the US and Iran, Sa'ar warned Tehran not to attack Israel again. "If we will be attacked by Iran, we will surely respond heavily. But I'm not sure that Iran will do that mistake. We don't have plans to join the war right now, and I hope that Iran will not make the mistake to attack right now."

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With tensions escalating in the West Bank, Sa'ar defended Israel's settlement policy, arguing that "it's our right to live anywhere in our land" and dismissed European criticism of the E1 settlement expansion project. 

Sa'ar rejected any government tolerance of settler violence, saying that "there is no justification for anyone to breach the law". He added that Israel's law enforcement agencies are "working against anyone who is acting in violence". 

"Some of these cases begin with Palestinian attacks on Israelis", he claimed nevertheless.