Netanyahu Claims: In 2013, I Refused U.S. Offer to Adopt ‘Afghanistan Model’ With PA

Former Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said Wednesday that he refused an offer by the U.S. to adopt the now failed “Afghanistan model” and rely on Palestinian Authority security forces for security.

Netanyahu revealed that in 2013, he was approached by then-Secretary of State John Kerry, who invited him on a secret visit to Afghanistan to see, as he explained, how the U.S. had set up a local military force that could stand alone against terrorism.

“The message was clear – the ‘Afghanistan model’ is the model that the United States seeks to apply to the Palestinian issue as well,” he wrote.

He said he “politely declined” the offer and rejected the idea.

“I estimated then that as soon as the U.S. left Afghanistan, everything would collapse. This is unfortunately what has happened these days: An extremist Islamic regime has conquered Afghanistan and will turn it into a state of terror that will endanger world peace,” he said.

“We will get the same result if we hand over swaths of land to the Palestinians. The Palestinians will not establish Singapore. They will establish a state of terror in Yehudah and Shomron, a short distance from Ben Gurion Airport, Tel Aviv, Kfar Sabba and Netanya,” he warned.

He further cautioned that “we saw the same wrong policy with regard to Iran. The international community has embarked on a dangerous agreement that would have given Iran an internationally condoned arsenal of nuclear bombs meant for our destruction.”

“I was then asked by our friends to keep quiet. Do not act or fight. I did not agree to that either. We have pursued an attack policy both in the operational field and in the diplomatic and explanatory field. I went out against the whole world, including many in Israel, and spoke in the U.S. Congress against this dangerous agreement,” he recounted.

“In the end, we brought the U.S. to impose heavy economic sanctions on Iran and to withdraw from the nuclear deal. Were it not for our determined actions Iran would have long had an arsenal of nuclear bombs,” he said.

“The conclusion is clear: The right doctrine that I have led is that we must not trust others to keep us safe, we must defend ourselves on our own in the face of any threat,” he underscored.

He then accused of the government led by Prime Minister Naftali Bennett of leading in the opposite direction.

“To our dismay, today the Lapid-Abbas-Bennett government is doing the exact opposite – a way that endangers our security and our very existence. They agreed to a ‘no surprises’ policy with [the U.S. on] Iran, a dangerous policy that restricts Israel’s operational freedom of action. They obey others and maintain a thunderous silence regarding Iran these days as it gallops to the bomb,” he charged.