Israel accuses Iran of fueling terrorism in Gaza

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has blatantly accused Iran of being a source of terrorism and violence in Gaza Strip. “You must realize that the main source of terror coming from Gaza is not Palestinians, but Iran,” Netanyahu said addressing a special session of parliament on Wednesday. The Israeli premier spoke a day after an Egyptian-brokered ceasefire ended four days of fierce Israeli-Palestinian violence, during which militants fired more than 200 rockets at southern Israel, and Israel launched at least 40 airstrikes against the coastal enclave. The prime minister insisted that Iran provided the Palestinian militant groups with missiles, funding, training, and infrastructure. “Gaza is a forward outpost for Iran,” Netanyahu said, adding that Gaza's Islamist militant groups, as well as Hezbollah in Lebanon, often acted on orders from Iran and were “sheltered under an Iranian umbrella.” “And imagine what would happen if this umbrella went nuclear? If behind these groups stood a country which calls for Israel's destruction, and is armed with a nuclear bomb?” he said. Israel and Western powers suspect Iran of seeking to build nuclear weapons. Iran denies this, saying its program is of a civilian nature. Israel has recently stepped up its verbal threats to attack Iran if it does not abandon its nuclear ambitions.