Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu welcomed the pressure the West is placing on Muammar Gaddafi in Libya on Tuesday, but said that equal steps should be taken against Iran, which is also a serial violator of human rights.
In his first public comments on the situation in Libya and the West's efforts to help pry Gaddafi from power, Netanyahu said it was an "absurdity" that Libya was a member of the UN's Human Rights Council, and that kicking Libya off that body – which "condemned Israel over the Goldstone report – was a "first step."
Netanyahu stressed that the world needs to send a message to the people of Libya that they have support in their struggle against ruler Muammar Gadhafi - a message that would be heard in Iran.
Netanyahu said an aggressive response against Gadhafi will send a clear message of encouragement and hope to the Iranian people that nobody has forgotten them, adding that those same steps must be directed at Iran.