PM asks for Arab unity against Iran

"Would be unbearable sin to allow Iran to obtain nuclear weapons."

By AMIR MIZROCH
olmert and bush 298.88 (photo credit: AP)
olmert and bush 298.88
(photo credit: AP)
In a speech at the UJC General Assembly Tuesday night Prime Minister Ehud Olmert called on moderate Arab states to create a coalition to tackle the Iranian threat. "A coalition of moderate Arab countries can and must unite their common interest in preventing Iran from undermining stability in the Middle East," Olmert said. "This coalition must struggle against the dangers of radical Islam that manipulate the very source of Islam itself."
  • JPost.com special: GA 2006 For a Jerusalem Online video of events click here The call came after Olmert reiterated Israel's intention to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons. "We have reached the pivotal moment of truth regarding Iran," the prime minister said. "It would be an unbearable sin to future generations to allow Iran to obtain nuclear weapons." The prime minister also addressed last summer's war in Lebanon, placing the blame for the conflict squarely on Hizbullah leader Hassan Nasrallah and the Iranians. "This was Hizbullah's war. This was Iran's war. Not Lebanon's war. And not Israel's war," he said. Declaring the war a definitive Israeli victory, Olmert suggested that even the Hizbullah leadership agreed with his assessment. "It is enough merely to quote Hizbullah's leader who said he would not have initiated the abductions had he known Israel would react with even one percent of the force we did," the prime minister said. Turning to the topic of the Palestinians, Olmert insisted that no peace would come so long as Hamas maintained its militant stance towards Israel. "Israel cannot accept a government led by an organization that denies our existence, actively pushes to destroy our society through unending terrorist attacks or refuses to even recognize former agreements signed upon by Israelis and Palestinians," he said.