Aug. 4 (Bloomberg) -- Former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said a proposed buffer zone in southern Lebanon won't be enough to stop Hezbollah's rocket attacks on his country.

``The buffer zone is a very partial answer because they can fire rockets over that,'' Netanyahu, chairman of the opposition Likud party, said today in London in an interview with Bloomberg Television. ``It's the destruction of the missile arsenal that's important.''

More than 500 Hezbollah rockets have hit Israel in the last two days. Israeli soldiers were preparing to advance to Lebanon's Litani River, up to 30 kilometers (19 miles) north of the border with Israel, in an operation the military said is aimed at wiping out Hezbollah positions. Since the conflict began July 12, Israel has focused its land operations on border villages while striking deeper inside the country with a bombing campaign.

Netanyahu said Israel was fighting against a ``mad militancy,'' and that Hezbollah was engaged in a religious war with the West that included war crimes.

``It's a war crime to deliberately kill civilians,'' he said. ``To hide behind civilians is also a war crime. Both crimes are committed by Hezbollah.''

Netanyahu defended Israel's actions in bombing locations in southern Lebanon, saying it was ``what any normal country would do'' if they were attacked with rockets.

He said the world is facing a ``new Hitlerism'' from extremists in the Middle East, and that Israel was only their first target. Netanyahu singled out Iran, saying Hezbollah was an extension of the Islamic Republic.

Iranian Missiles

The former Israeli leader said Iran was developing missiles to reach London and, within 10 years, the U.S. East Coast. Iranian leaders frequently refer to the U.S. as ``the Great Satan.''

``We are the Little Satan, the United States is the Great Satan and Europe, even though it doesn't realize it, is a Middle Satan.''

Islamic extremists did not hate the West because of Israel, they hated Israel because it was western, Netanyahu said.

Netanyahu said he believed Israel's economy could cope with the effects of the crisis. In the past three years the country had downsized the government sector, reduced taxes and achieved considerable growth, he said.

``If we lose one percent of growth, or even two percent of growth, we still have four percent left,'' Netanyahu said. In the last six weeks $10 billion had been invested in high tech Israeli companies, he said.

`State Within a State'

Netanyahu said Israel and Lebanon were both ``victims'' of the conflict. ``I don't think Lebanon can have a chance if the terrorist state within a state of Hezbollah continues there,'' he said. ``I don't think peace can have a chance if these people with their 10,000 rockets are still there firing them into our country.

``The buffer zone may improve some friction along the border, but if you have rockets with a range of 240 kilometers, a buffer zone doesn't reduce the main threat.

To contact the reporters on this story: Nick Allen in London at nallen14@bloomberg.net; Sara Walker in London at slean1@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: August 4, 2006 10:38 EDT