Netanyahu: I'd consider mediating Ukraine-Russia peace if asked - CNN interview

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday he would be willing to consider serving as a mediator between Russia and Ukraine if asked by both warring countries and the United States.

"If asked by all relevant parties, I'll certainly consider it, but I’m not pushing myself in," Netanyahu said during an interview with CNN's Jake Tapper. He added it would have to be the "right time and the right circumstances."

Israel's close ally the United States would also need to ask because "you can't have too many cooks in the kitchen," he said.

Netanyahu said he was asked to be a mediator shortly after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February of last year but he declined because he was Israel’s opposition leader at the time, not the prime minister. "I have a rule: one prime minister at a time," he said.

Netanyahu would not say who asked him to serve in the role but he said the request was "unofficial."

Ukraine asked Netanyahu’s predecessor, Naftali Bennett, to act as a mediator and Bennett met in March with Russian President Vladimir Putin and also spoke with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky but he was unable to broker a peace deal.

Now that he has returned to the premiership, Netanyahu clarified, he’s not pushing himself into that mediator role, noting that the timing was not right for such a move.

“I have been around long enough to know that there has to be a right time and the right circumstances and if they arise, I would certainly consider it.” 

Netanyahu spoke about Israel’s complex stance with regard to the Russia-Ukraine war, including its actions against Iran that have also benefited Kyiv.

“Israel also, frankly, acts in ways that I will not itemize here against Iran's weapons productions, which are used against Ukraine,” Netanyahu added. He said that not only Israel is trying to thwart Iran’s nuclear program, “but also taking action against certain weapons development that Iran has, and Iran invariably exports them.”

However, Netanyahu refused to answer if Israel was behind a recent explosion in Isfahan against a military industry factory. “I never talk about specific operations with the exception of our raid on Iran's secret nuclear archive,” he said. “And every time some explosion takes place in the Middle East, Israel is blamed or given responsibility. Sometimes we are, sometimes we're not.”

Israel's complicated relationship with Russia

About the Israel-Russia relationship, he said: “What we have with Russia is a complex relationship because not very far from here, a few miles from here on our northern border with Syria, Israeli aircraft and Russian aircraft are flying within spitting distance of each other. Russia is militarily in Syria. Iran is trying to implant itself in Syria right next to our northern border, the way they did in Lebanon with Hezbollah.”

Asked whether he would consider providing military support to Ukraine, Netanyahu said “I'm certainly looking into it,” noting that the US recently took 250,000 ammunition shells that were stored in Israel and passed them to Ukraine. “It’s [the US] decision, it’s fine, I have no problem with that,” he said.

When Russia invaded Ukraine last February, Israel stayed away from getting too involved, which remained the Jewish state's stance for many months as war raged on. 

In October, Israel started working with Ukraine on intelligence. Zelensky told a press conference in Kyiv at the time that the cooperation between the countries was on a positive trajectory.

“We need Israel’s help and political leadership, and as I said, it has started in recent days,” Zelensky said.

Ukraine has persistently pressured Israel to expand its support which has been mostly limited to humanitarian assistance and to provide it with defensive equipment such as an early alert system and anti-drone and anti-missile technology. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken clarified while he was in Israel that he expects Netanyahu to provide Ukraine with economic, humanitarian and security assistance.

On the Israeli-Palestinian conflict

The Israeli prime minister also discussed the Israeli-Palestinian conflict with CNN explaining that people can get “hung up” on peace negotiations with the Palestinians.

“When effectively the Arab-Israeli conflict (comes) to an end, I think we’ll circle back to the Palestinians and get a workable peace with the Palestinians,” Netanyahu said. 

Both Jews and Palestinians have to find a way to live together, given that both populations are here to stay, he said, explaining that he was opposed to uprooting people, including settlers and Israeli-Arabs.

“We are not going to ethnically cleanse the heartland of the Jewish people [the West Bank] and we’re not going to ethnically cleanse Israel. Twenty percent of Israel’s population is Arab. We are not going to say we are not going to have peace until we kick out the Arabs from Israel and we are not going to have peace until we kick out the Jews from these areas [the West Bank] which are disputed, they are not illegal, they are disputed,” Netanyahu said. 

Israel, he clarified is willing to negotiate with the Palestinians, who have consistently refused to talk.

The formula for peace with the Palestinians must include Israel’s retention of security control including over those areas governed by the Palestinians, he said.  

“Well, I'm certainly willing to have [the Palestinians] have all the powers that they need to govern themselves, but none of the powers that can threaten us,” he said.

“And this means that Israel should have the overriding security responsibility, because every time we moved out, say from Lebanon, basically Iran came in with its proxy - Hezbollah. We moved out of Gaza, and another radical Islamist [group] Hamas took over. And if we just walk away as people suggest, then you'll have Hamas and Iran move into the hills around Jerusalem overlooking Tel Aviv.”

Netanyahu spoke of the upsurge in violence in the West Bank and Jerusalem and pushed back against charges that Israel’s response amounted to collective punishment against the Palestinians.

“I do not believe in collective punishment, but I do believe in focused action against the terrorists,” Netanyahu said. “I am taking targeted action against the terrorists and their immediate supporters,” he said, adding that this would lower the incentive for lone Palestinians to engage in terror.

The family members of terrorists who are targeted are those who accept the Palestinian Authority’s monthly stipend provided as a reward for such acts, Netanyahu said, as he referenced what in Israel has been dubbed “pay for slay.” 

Asked about concerns regarding his coalition partners, he said: “I’ve got my two hands on the wheel.”

“I’m controlling the government, and I’m responsible for its policies, and the policies are sensible, and responsible, and continue to be that,” Netanyahu added.

Regarding past comments of Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, Netanyahu said: “A lot of people say a lot of things when they’re not in power. They sort of temper themselves when they get into power. And that’s certainly the case here.”

He also dismissed the concerns regarding the discussed judicial reform, and said that the proposed changes will “make democracy stronger.”

Netanyahu said that some of the judicial reform provisions he wants to put in place would make Israel akin to Canada, New Zealand and Great Britain.

These reforms bring Israel in line with most of the democracies in the world, Netanyahu explained. “Israel has the most extreme judicial activism which has gone off the rails,” and correction and restoring Israeli democracy will make it stronger, he said.

However, he said would consider alternative options to his judicial reforms proposal.

“I am willing to hear counteroffers, I call for them,” he said.

He pledged to retain Israel’s democracy, stating “Israel remains democratic and will be democratic, after these democratic reforms it will be more democratic.”

Netanyahu congratulated the Philadelphia-raised reporter on the city's team making it to the Super Bowl. "I don't want to intervene in your football politics, but I understand the Eagles made it to the Super Bowl. I offer you my personal congratulations," he said. 

Netanyahu said he thinks "President Biden's commitment to Israel is real."

"It's not just words. It's genuine. It comes from the heart, and our commitment, my commitment to the alliance with the United States is real. It's gone through many presidents, and it has to be bipartisan. But it doesn't mean we agree on everything. We've disagreed on a number of things. We disagreed on Iran - [there is] less disagreement today, I have to say. We've disagreed on other things, and we've agreed on many things."

Tovah Lazaroff contributed to this report.