Reporter: We're going to talk now to uh, the former Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, joining us I believe from our studios in Tel Aviv. Uh, Mr. Netanyahu, thank you. Apologies for the uh confusion but thank you for joining us, from a somewhat disrupted Haifa, uh, today. Can I just ask you first of all then. Um. You be aware of the criticism - not just from British government ministers, but from other people around the world, that Israel has made its point. It is now overdoing it. It is being too violent in what it is reaping on South Lebanon. How do you respond to those criticisms?
BN: I-I think that its eh, a peculiar criticism coming from countries that know better because when London was rocketed by V2s during The Blitz the response was... shall we say 1,000 times greater? No, I think its probably 10,000 times greater. When New York was rocketed by make-shift rockets - basically improvised aircraft used as rockets, the response was to go uh, half-way 'cross the world, wipe out the Taliban Regime, and conquer Iraq. And in both cases British and American troops and the troops of other countries, tried to ferret out the terrorists who are, as in the case of Lebanon eh, hiding in civilian areas, so civilian casualties are accrued because the terrorists uh, Hezbollah terrorists not only hide, uh not only target civilians but also hide behind civilians. And responsible governments whether its Britain, the United States, the other governments who join them or Israel itself now, do not give immunity to terrorists simply because they hide among civilians. You try to minimize civilian casualties. Since Israel has received over a 1,000 rockets including in Haifa today where more people were, were killed by these uh, these criminal assaults - these are deliberate attacks on civilians. They're not incidental attacks on civilians. Then I think that its a great moral confusion to equate, the uh, civilian victims that are deliberately, uh, uhm, caused by H-Hezbollah terrorists to the incidental uh, eh, civilian casualties, uh that are unfortunately eh produced also by the Hezbollah tactic of hiding in crowded neighborhoods.
Reporter: Is it an in - a tacit admission by Ehud Olmert that he's sending Simon Peres off to talk to European capitals on a tour of, uh, we understand Europe, and get over to America, to take Israel's message out, that whatever you think the rights and wrongs of the military campaign, uh the PR war, the uh, words of persuasion haven't actually hit home and the rest the world remains critical of Israel.
BN: Uh, I think that eh that we have to continues fight this battle of truth, battle for public opinion all the time. Ah, you know uh, there is a double standard even triple standard that is being applied here. Uh, In uh 1944 the British royal air force uh, went to uh target the Gestapo headquarters in Copenhagen uh, eh a target, a le-legitimate military target embedded in a civilian population. The British pilots missed and uh, uh 83 children uh, were Danish children, were horribly burnt in a children's hospital right next to the Gestapo headquarters. That didn't make the British pilots terrorists. It didn't make the British response uh disproportionate wrong. It was an accident of war that accompanies any war, and especially when your targets are embedded in civilian areas. Ah I think that to
Reporter: Mr.. Netanyahu
BH: uh, create a false symmetry - (off camera "ss - ss"). Yes
Reporter: S-s-sorry to
BH: HELLO?
Reporter: interrupt you I know we have just a brief ti - oh, we have just a brief time together and I just want to ask you one point relating to Syria. Much talk about it today. Offers from Syria to join the conversation to talk to the US, uh to talk to yourselves of Israel to try and reach a solution. Do you accept that offer of con - of dialog?
BN: Well the first thing they can do instead of dialog is merely to stop eh arming Hezbollah because as we speak and during this conflict the Syrians have supplied rockets to Hezbollah so on. One side of their mouth they're talking dialog and the other side of their mouth or if you will with their hidden hand, they are pushing these rockets for this, these criminal eh bombardments of uh, of uh, Israel civilians. Uh, I think that Syria - the best thing that could be done with Syria is to put enormous pressure on them and on Iran, the two patrons of Hezbollah, without which Hezbollah doesn't stand two minutes. So I-I think that what eh, is required right now is great pressure on Syria by the international community and great pressure on Iran and just think that if this pressure is not applied and Iran does race and achieve the development of atomic bombs, well they have mi - missiles that can far over-reach Israel. Soon they'll reach London and soon after that they'll reach uh the eastern seaboard of the US. This is the premonition of the kind of world we have if we don't stop it now. I think the international community should place pressure on both regimes and it should enable Israel to defend itself against the terrorist proxy of Iran and Syria.
Reporter: Benjamin Netanyahu, we thank you for your time this afternoon.