Posted on 01/13/24
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, this evening (Saturday, 13 January 2024), at the Kirya in Tel Aviv [translated from Hebrew]:
"Citizens of Israel, may we have a good week.
Today, we mark 100 days of the war, 100 days since the terrible day on which our citizens were massacred and taken hostage. We are continuing the war until the end – until total victory, until we achieve all of our goals: Eliminating Hamas, returning all of our hostages and ensuring that Gaza will never again constitute a threat to Israel.
We will restore security to both the south and the north. Nobody will stop us – not The Hague, not the axis of evil and not anybody else. The hypocritical onslaught at The Hague against the state of the Jews that arose from the ashes of the Holocaust, at the behest of those who came to perpetrate another Holocaust against the Jews – is a moral low point in the history of nations.
In the murder tunnels of Gaza, our forces have found copies of Hitler's Mein Kampf. In a home in Gaza, they found a child's tablet with a picture of Hitler as the screensaver. Not for nothing did German Chancellor Scholz, after viewing the atrocities of the October 7 massacre, say: 'Hamas are the new Nazis.'
Yesterday, I spoke with Chancellor Scholz and I thanked him for Germany's willingness to send a delegation to The Hague to help refute this despicable lie. But see the depth of the absurdity and the hypocrisy: Supporters of the new Nazis dare to accuse us of genocide. Who do they support? Murderers, rapists, those who decapitate and those who burn babies?! What brazen gall. What a disgrace.
The State of Israel, the IDF and our security services are fighting a moral and just war that is without parallel, against the Hamas monsters, the new Nazis. This international campaign of denigration will not weaken either our hand or our determination to fight until the end, because something has changed in the history of our people.
The antisemitism is the same antisemitism but the status of the Jewish people has fundamentally changed. Because today we have a state. Today we have defense forces and heroic soldiers to protect our people. What happened on October 7 will not happen again. This is our mission. This is our obligation.
Tomorrow we will submit a budget that will ensure the continuation of the war: More money – a lot more – for security. More compensation and grants for reservists, families, the self-employed and for all who are bearing the burden. More assistance to return evacuees to their homes and for rebuilding the communities and the kibbutzim.
Citizens of Israel, we are on the path to victory. We will not stop until we achieve victory. I know that there are those who doubt this – I am not among them. I hear your call and know that you, citizens of Israel, are not among them either. We are doing this together to the end. I believe in our people, in our soldiers and commanders, and I believe that after the massacre of October 7, we will not compromise on anything less than total victory.
I say this, on your behalf, to every world leader who I speak with – we will not compromise and we will not stop. We are continuing until victory; we have no other choice.
I have heard commentators in studios who explain 'This is not possible. This is not necessary.' Then I – and you also – say: It is possible, it is necessary and we will do it.
In recent weeks, we have proven to Hamas and Hezbollah that every terrorist is a dead man, wherever they are. We are continuing to eliminate many terrorists and we are doing so in two ways: In forceful military activity in which most Hamas battalions have been eliminated and clearing actions to eliminate additional terrorists left in the field, above and below ground. These actions take time.
Several days ago, I met with Secretary of State Blinken. I thanked him for the American assistance and I emphasized to him: We embarked on this war after we were massacred. We are not stopping. We are continuing until we eliminate Hamas and return our hostages. I told him something else: This is not just our war – it is also your war. This is the war of the sons of light against the sons of darkness.
This is a war against the axis of evil led by Iran and its three proxies: Hezbollah, Hamas and the Houthis.
And I added – I do not forget, not even for a moment, that in addition to the war in Gaza, in addition to the return of our hostages and the return of the residents to their homes in both the north and the south, we have another, constant, existential mission – to prevent Iran from attaining nuclear weapons. This is my mission. This is our mission. I told Secretary of State Blinken: 'This needs to be your highest mission too.'
Citizens of Israel, we are at a national moment of truth. We are fighting not only to restore our security now, we are fighting to ensure our security for generations. This war is exacting a heavy price from us. Last week we lost Lt.-Col. Roi Yosef Mordechai, a Nahal Brigade commander who volunteered to fight in Gaza. Roi survived the terrorist attack on the Mercaz Harav Yeshiva in Jerusalem 16 years ago in which eight of his friends were murdered. He left behind his wife Neta and infant daughter Ori. Ori did not manage to know her father, his spirit of voluntarism, his courage and the Zionism that pulsed within him.
Roi's father, Eli, eulogized him: 'It is said that the Holy One, blessed be He, takes the very best. But he does not take – they give.' The sacrifice of Roi and our heroic soldiers who have fallen amidst boundless courage are a fresh and painful testimony to the heavy price that we all – as a state and as a people – are paying in order to live free in our land and return our hostages. I embrace my brothers and sisters from the bereaved families. Our heroic loved ones have paid the heaviest price in falling in defense of the homeland.
I embrace the families of the hostages, with whom I and my wife meet all the time. These are personal, heart-rending meetings. We embrace them and listen to them. We look at the photos of their loved ones – our loved ones. I gave them a clear promise and I repeat it today: I will not give up on anyone. We are obligated to returning them all home.
I embrace the wounded who have shown utmost heroism in the face of their war injuries. Every one of our fighters and commanders are true heroes who have given their souls to restore security to our country and return the residents to their homes – and so it will be.
As is written in this week's Haftarah (https://www.jewfaq.org/torah_readings): 'then shall they dwell in their own land which I gave to My servant Jacob; and they shall dwell safely therein, and shall build houses, and plant vineyards.' [Ezekiel 28:25-26 (https://mechon-mamre.org/p/pt/pt1228.htm)].
Together we will fight, and with G-d's help – together we will win."