Mofaz: Middle East axis of evil wants to destroy Israel
By Lilach Weissman, Haaretz Correspondent
Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz said Friday the radical axis of evil in the Middle East wants to destroy Israel and radicalize the moderate Arab regimes.Mofaz told a Kadima conference that the pragmatic Mideast axis led by Israel and moderate Arab states with American support must continue to prevail.
"This axis must remain the dominant axis," he said. "It will prevent the formation of a new eastern front for the State of Israel."
Mofaz said Israel faces three key challenges: the PA, in the wake of Hamas' electoral victory; the Iranian threat; and the threat from the north. He said Israel would continue to confront all the challenges with the support of the international community.
Acting Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said Israel has thwarted many attacks in the last few weeks.
"We are focused on every place where there is a risk, even the smallest, of terror," he said. "We must maintain the extensive international front we have gathered around the principles we have presented to the [Palestinian] Authority."
Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni said Kadima's ideology "does not deal with the Palestinian state," but with Israel.
"Our obligation is to make sure that the State of Israel and its citizens will live in security," she said. "Our ideology deals with the existence of the State of Israel as a Jewish and democratic state."