Pelosi tears in to Netanyahu saying he has ‘never believed in peace’

Former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi has slammed Benjamin Netanyahu by claiming he has ‘never believed in peace or a two-state solution’. Pelosi, 84, was speaking at Chatham House in London when she made the comments about 74-year-old Netanyahu’s commitment to peace, more than a year into Israel’s counteroffensive action into the Gaza Strip that has so far killed over 42,000 Palestinians.

When asked about the viability of a two-state solution more than a year of bitter conflict waged by Israeli against Hamas and Hezbollah in the Middle East, she said: ‘Not with Netanyahu. I don’t think he’s ever believed in peace or a two-state solution. The U.S. has always supported Israel – it is our ally, [we have] shared values within our national.’

She explained: ‘We continue to support Israel, but not the deaths of so many, so much collateral damage. There are those who say the Israelis are taking great precautions. Well, clearly not enough.’ She added, referring to signing of the Oslo Accords in 1993: ‘We thought we were on course then, when Bill Clinton had the leaders at the White House. But I think the leadership of Netanyahu all these years has been counter to that.’ 

The signing of the Oslo Accords in Washington DC, following secret negotiations in Oslo, Norway, led to the famous photo showing Bill Clinton facilitating a handshake between Israel’s then-prime minister Yitzhak Rabin and Palestinian Liberation Organisation leader Yasser Arafat shaking hands as they signed the historic agreement.

More than three decades on, however, the Middle East is in a severe crisis. Israel has been escalating its campaign against Hezbollah after a year of exchanges of fire, while it is also at war with Hamas in Gaza. Israel’s offensive in Gaza has killed over 42,000 Palestinians, according to local health authorities, who do not say how many were fighters but say women and children make up more than half of the fatalities.

The war has destroyed large areas of Gaza and displaced about 90% of its population of 2.3 million people. It’s been more than a year since Hamas-led militants blew holes in Israel’s security fence and stormed into army bases and farming communities, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting another 250. They are still holding about 100 captives inside Gaza, a third of whom are believed to be dead.

Today, rocket fire from Lebanon set off sirens in Tel Aviv and over 180 communities across central Israel. The Israeli military said three projectiles were identified crossing from Lebanon and all were intercepted. Israel’s police said debris from an interception fell in a city south of Tel Aviv but there were no reports of injuries or significant damage.

Rocket attacks on northern Israel meanwhile continued unabated on Monday, with the army saying that approximately 90 projectiles were identified by the afternoon. Most were intercepted or fell in open areas. A 50-year-old woman was lightly injured and heavy damage was caused in a volley of 15 rockets on the northern town of Karmiel, the military and the Israeli rescue service said.

Hezbollah has fired more than 12,000 rockets, missiles and drones at Israel since the start of the hostilities one year ago, according to the army. Most of the fire has been directed at the north of the country, but attacks have reached deeper into Israel and become more frequent since the conflict escalated in mid September.

On Sunday, a Hezbollah drone attack on a military base in the city of Binyamina killed four soldiers and wounded 61. Israeli military discloses the number of messages and calls made in Lebanon urging evacuation.

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