"If Hamas/Hizbullah succeeds here, they are going to succeed everywhere, not only in the Middle East, but everywhere. Israel isn’t the only enemy," Sen. McCain said in an interview given in Israel.

"They are dedicated to the extinction of everything that the US, Israel and the West believe and stand for. So America does have an interest in what happens here, far above and beyond our alliance with the State of Israel."

"Someone is going to have to answer me the question of how you are going to negotiate with an organization that is dedicated to your extinction."

"I really think that we should understand that the US and Israel are partners. Israel is not a client of the United States. If you are partners, then you don’t dictate what you think the terms of the survival of a nation should be," McCain continued.

"I think Iran is a threat to the region…obviously pursuing nuclear weapons. At the end of the day, we can still not afford to have Iran with nuclear weapons. We know they have ambitions that are not just aimed at the State of Israel….destabilization of the entire region upon which the United States’ national security interests rest," he said.

"I would personally be engaged. I know enough about it to be personally engaged and give it my highest priority. Any candidate for that position would be someone whom both sides would listen to and respect."