On 12 May, ICSR hosted Benny Begin, Likud member of the Knesset and the son of former Prime Minister of Israel, Menachem Begin.
Begin spoke about ‘Israel’s Strategic Priorities and Peace Negotiations’. He began by emphasising the continued strength of Hezbollah and drawing attention to the support it has received from Syria and Iran. He suggested that Hezbollah had quadrupled the number of rockets it had in its possession in recent years and that Hamas was also making efforts to re-arm itself, using international support. He emphasised the importance of the ideological commitment of Israel’s enemies to its destruction.
On the issue of peace negotiations, Begin referred to Israel’s historical experience of such efforts. He said that the lesson of the 1966-7 and other episodes was that Israel could not rely on international guarantees.