Defense Minister Yoav Gallant vows that Israel “will achieve [its] goals in the north and south,” in a message to both the country’s “enemies and best friends.”
The comments come after US President Joe Biden threatened that some arms shipments would be frozen if Israel launches a planned full-on offensive in southern Gaza’s Rafah.
“I say from here to Israel’s enemies and its best friends: The State of Israel cannot be subdued — not the IDF, not the Defense Ministry, not the defense establishment, not the State of Israel. We will stand, we will achieve our goals, we will hit Hamas, we will destroy Hezbollah, and we will bring security,” Gallant says during a ceremony ahead of Israel’s Memorial Day.
“Whatever the cost, we will ensure the existence of the State of Israel and remember well the directive we signed just a week ago during the Holocaust Remembrance Day ceremony, the words ‘Never Again.’ For me, it’s not just a directive, it’s a work plan. This is how the defense establishment will work and this is how the IDF will work,” he adds.
In what appears to be a response to US President Joe Biden’s decision to suspend key weapons shipments to Israel and his threat that more will follow, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu posts on X footage of his speech at Yad Vashem earlier this week, in which he said that Israel will stand alone against Hamas if it must.
“Today, we again confront enemies bent on our destruction,” says Netanyahu in the clip from a Holocaust Remembrance Day event in Jerusalem. “I say to the leaders of the world — no amount of pressure, no decision from any international forum, will stop Israel from defending itself.”
“If Israel is forced to stand alone,” he pledges, “Israel will stand alone.”
He adds that “countless decent people around the world support our just cause.”
“We will defeat our genocidal enemies,” he continues. “Never again is now.”
Government said set to decide today how to deal with new White House approach to war
The course of the continued fighting in Gaza and Lebanon, in the wake of the White House decision to halt some weapons shipments, will be determined during “fateful” war cabinet and security cabinet meetings this evening, the Israel Hayom daily reports, citing an unnamed Israeli official.
The official says that during a Sunday phone call between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US President Joe Biden, the premier said Israel would “fight tooth and nail if it has to.”
“And he meant it,” stresses the official.
No comments:
Post a Comment