No one seeks peace more than Israel, Ambassador says

Michael Freeman is the Israeli ambassador to Nigeria. In this interview with STEVE OBUM ORAJIAKU and UGOCHI AHANEKU, he explains the Israel-Hamas conflict and Israel’s willingness to embrace peace. He also reiterated that Israel would do everything for the safety of its people.

What’s your assessment of the diplomatic collaboration between Israel and Nigeria?
Israel and Nigeria have so much in common. We have a long history together. We have a shared history and we’ve worked together in so many different areas and I know that the potential for us to continue working is greater. We work together on developing agriculture and agricultural technology, water, health technology and cyber technology, security, digital transformation, hi-tech, and education. All of these are areas we can work and continue to work together. Israel is blessed with expertise in a lot of areas and we want to share that with our friends, and Nigeria is one of them. We want to work with Nigeria and build a real partnership for the benefit of Israelis and Nigerians.

The devastation caused by the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas especially on the side of the Palestinians is terrifying. The just-concluded Qatar Truce following the death of Hamas political Chief, Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran was substantially successful. What are your comments on this?
Well, there’s a lot to unpack in what you have said. There are a lot of issues, but I think that what we need to remember is how this current situation started. It started at 6:29 am. on Saturday, October 7, 2023, on a Jewish festival. Not only was it a festival and a holy day, but it was also a Saturday. It was the Sabbath. At that time of the morning, 1000 Hamas terrorists broke through the border, came in and murdered, raped and burnt people alive.

They tortured innocent Israeli civilians and killed children in front of their parents and vice versa. They killed over 1200 people that day, including over 340 at a music festival that was there to celebrate peace. So, we should never forget how this started and what instigated the current conflict. Hamas kidnapped over 250 Israelis and many others from different nations. They kidnapped Muslims, Christians, Jews, babies, children, grandparents, grandmothers, and Holocaust survivors most brutally.

Then Israel said, like any country would in the modern world, that once this has happened, we will do what we need to do to make sure that the rapists, murderers, terrorists and evil people never have the opportunity to do it again. So, we launched a military campaign in Gaza, targeting Hamas.

I want to be very clear; this is not a war between Israel and the Palestinians or Israel and Gaza or Israel and Islam. This is a war between Israel and Hamas. Hamas is our enemy and the enemy of the Palestinian people. Hamas has been brutalising the Palestinians inside Gaza for over 20 years.

You know, the world gave billions of dollars to Palestinians through Hamas as aid to help them build a better life but rather than turn Gaza into Dubai, the Hamas leadership has chosen to turn Gaza into the largest terror infrastructure in history. Hamas has built over 500 kilometres of underground tunnels in Gaza, yet no citizen is allowed in there. They’ve built shelters but they are for their terrorists, guns, rockets and weapons. So, Israel is doing what we need to do.

On October 8, the day afterward, Hezbollah in the north started firing rockets and attacking Israel as well. We have no territorial dispute with Hezbollah whatsoever. We recently signed an agreement demarcating the gas fields and the sea. This is purely an attack on Israel. All of this is being coordinated, sponsored and run by Iran. Hezbollah, Hamas and Houthis are all Iranian proxies.

Ismail Haniyeh, the previous head of Hamas on October 7, 2023, was filmed in front of the television as the horror was being shown, giving praise for what had happened. That is not a sign of someone moderate or reasonable. These people are terrorists, and the world is a better place when there are few terrorists around.

So, in answer to your question, how do we move this forward? Hamas needs to release the hostages. They are still holding 109 hostages, Christians, Muslims, and Jews. Their youngest is a one-year-old baby. Their oldest is an 85-year-old grandparent. They need to release those 109 hostages. They need to lay down their arms and if they do that, this war is over. Israel has no territorial desire over Gaza. We do not want to be there, we left in 2005.

How does Israel plan to address the recent surge in violence and terror attacks, particularly the anticipated reprisal from Iran? Also, why did Israel object to the participation of Hamas at the Qatar Truce talk?
Israel did not refuse the participation of Hamas. Hamas just refused to come along. We heard very clearly from American President, Joe Biden and Secretary of State, Antony Blinken that Israel has accepted the American proposal for a ceasefire. Hamas is the one rejecting it. Hamas is a radical terror organisation bent on the destruction of Israel and the killing of Jews around the world. They and Iran are spreading their terror. Iran is a destabilising figure. We’ve seen it even in this region. We saw that when the Nigerian president announced sanctions on Niger after the military coup. The next day, Iran stood up and said, “Well, we’re going to help the coup leaders bypass sanctions because we know how to bypass sanctions, and we are going to help them bypass what Nigeria is doing.” So, Iran is already undermining Nigeria’s interests. It’s undermining interests all around the world. We hope that Iran does not make the mistake of attacking us, but if it does, we will do what we need to defend ourselves like any country in the world would.

What measures is Israel taking to protect their citizens and ensure their safety amid ongoing conflict? One wonders, with the Confederation of Allies against Israel, how much do you think you can do to quell the onslaught?
We do lots of things to protect ourselves. Let’s talk about the allies, and who’s on what side. On the side of evil, you have Iran, Houthis, Hamas and Hezbollah. We’ve seen Iraq and Syria and the dictator Assad. On the good side, we have Israel, America, UK and France. In April, when Iran launched an unprecedented attack on Israel with ballistic missiles, drones, and cruise missiles, who was on Israel’s side? America, Britain, France, Jordan, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia, all of these people are strongly allied with Israel. Israel is going to great lengths to protect our population. More than that, we are using an army that is dedicated to ensuring that we take the battle to the enemy and don’t let the enemy come to us.

We’re also investing significantly in technology and other measures. But it’s much more than that. We defend our neighbours as well. What do I mean by that? Hezbollah has fired over 5000 rockets at Israel. They’ve killed 44 Israelis. If we hadn’t been shooting down those rockets, how many more Israelis would have died? Hundreds more and if hundreds more Israelis had died, Israel would have had to respond much more forcefully in Lebanon. Then we would have seen more Lebanese dying and infrastructure destroyed. We’d have seen the same thing happening.

How does Israel address concerns about the humanitarian situation in Gaza and access to relief materials?
There is no limit to the amount of aid that can go into Gaza. We are allowing aid faster than it can be distributed inside Gaza. You’ll notice that nobody in the world is saying that there is a food problem in Gaza and that there’s not enough food. Some weeks back, Israel worked with the United Nations (UN) to allow polio vaccinations to make sure that the remaining number of people who haven’t been vaccinated get it. We are allowing and working with partners to ensure that humanitarian aid goes in because our fight is not with the population. You’ll notice that last week, two rockets were fired at Tel Aviv from Gaza. None of them landed in the city. One landed in the sea and one landed in Gaza. They were fired from the humanitarian zone, the area that Israel has designated the humanitarian zone. Why are the leaders of Hamas fighting in the humanitarian zone? So, it’s Hamas that is abusing this concept of humanitarian aid. Hamas is stealing a lot of the humanitarian aid, and so we must understand the reality there.

What message does Israel have for Nigerians and the international community regarding the commitment to peace, security, and cooperation?
We have recently signed the Abraham Accords, and Israel signed a peace treaty with the United Arab Emirates. We signed with Bahrain and Sudan. Israel’s hand is outstretched for peace. Israel has seen the benefits of peace. Peace is the best answer and solution for everyone.

Lastly, when will the de-escalation of strife and dialogue options be preferred to the current intensified conflict?
Nobody wants conversations and peace more than Israelis. When our young ones attain the age of 18, they’re meant to serve in the army. No, I don’t want them to do that. I don’t want them to serve in the army in such a manner. But if they have to, they will. I don’t want them to be in a place where they have to fight with our neighbours or be shot by our neighbours, because that’s not good for any of us. So, nobody has a greater interest in peace than we do. I would say to the moderate Palestinians and Arab voices and the nations around us, our hand is outstretched for peace. Throw Hamas out of your society. Throw Islamic Jihad out of your society, Hezbollah and these radical terrorists out of your society, and stand up and say, “You want a better life”, and we will be there to meet you.