Netanyahu: We conveyed advance information to Britain about a “bloody attack” planned by Iran

Tel Aviv - Ofoq News - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said, in an interview with the British newspaper “Daily Mail” published on Saturday, that the Israeli intelligence services had conveyed to their British counterparts advance information regarding a “bloody attack” that was being planned with Iranian support against the British Air Force base in Fairford.

Netanyahu added that the attack “was thwarted and prevented,” stressing that the attack, had it not been for the intelligence provided by Israel, “would most likely have occurred,” adding: “We do not know how many British citizens we would have lost.”

Netanyahu described Britain as an ally of Israel, but he directed sharp criticism at the Labor government headed by Andy Burnham, against the backdrop of its handling of the intelligence-sharing file, and said: “This is a duality that is difficult to comprehend.”

Netanyahu added that the British government "is going along with the Islamists and calming them down while they are attacking Israel, the country that is fighting terrorists and the terrorist regime that is attacking it," accusing the British government of "following a policy of appeasement toward its enemies, while dealing aggressively with those who defend them."

Netanyahu revealed that he had not spoken even once with his British counterpart since he took office in July, accusing the Labor government of "succumbing to internal pressures that dictate its position toward Israel."

Speaking about what he described as Britain’s ignoring of the dangers it faces, Netanyahu said: “Churchill called it the nap of democracies,” adding that democracies “fall asleep while their enemies begin to attack them, until they hear the frightening alarm bell ring,” as he put it.

He added: "Right now, despite all this happening, they have not woken up yet."

When asked about the nature of current relations between Britain and Israel, Netanyahu said: “It's not very good, is it? When they go along with our common enemies and attack us, that in itself tells the story.”

Netanyahu continued: “We are fighting a battle. I call it the Battle of Britain,” adding: “It is the battle of Western civilization against barbarians. There is a lot of misinformation and propaganda, and they are trying to glorify Hamas and praise the Islamists who killed Britons, Americans, Israelis, and citizens of dozens of other countries.”

Netanyahu said in the interview: “We are not the bad guys. We are a very small country fighting in the heart of the Middle East, not only to defend ourselves, but also to protect moderate Arab countries from Iranian control and its agents, whom he describes as killers.”