Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio delivered the following remarks in Jerusalem on Feb. 16, 2025, during the latter’s first official visit to the Jewish state.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu:
“Secretary Rubio, my dear friend, Marco, it’s great to welcome you in Jerusalem with your delegation. It’s great to welcome you in Jerusalem as secretary of state of the United States.
“I have to say that this visit comes in the wake of a historic visit to Washington. I’ve said, and I’m going to repeat it again because it’s so true: President Trump is the greatest friend that Israel has ever had in the White House. And the visit in Washington reflected that in every way, and your visit here reflects it in every way.
“Throughout your political career, you’ve been a great supporter of Israel and a great champion of the U.S.-Israel alliance. I have no doubt that your unwavering support will continue during your tenure as secretary of state. And I also have no doubt that you’ll be a voice of clarity and courage on the world stage for the values that we in Israel and you in America hold dear, the values of freedom for all those who cherish liberty. You’re already doing that and I want to tell you that it’s heard loud and clear here and everywhere else.
“Today, Secretary Rubio and I had a very productive discussion with our staffs on a number of issues. None of them are more important than Iran. Israel and America stand shoulder-to-shoulder in countering the threat of Iran. We agreed that the ayatollahs must not have nuclear weapons and we also agreed that Iran’s aggression in the region has to be rolled back.
“Over the last 16 months, Israel has dealt a mighty blow to Iran’s terror axis. Under the strong leadership of President Trump, and with your unflinching support, I have no doubt that we can and will finish the job.
“We also spoke a great deal about Gaza. I thank Secretary Rubio for President Trump’s assistance in helping us secure the release of another three hostages yesterday. These are hostages that Hamas refused to release only a few days earlier. And I also thanked him for America’s unequivocal backing for Israel’s policy in Gaza in moving forward.
“I want to assure everyone who is now listening to us, President Trump and I are working in full cooperation and coordination between us. We have a common strategy, and we can’t always share in details this strategy with the public, including when the gates of hell will be opened, as they surely will if all our hostages are not released, until the last one of them.
“Israel is determined to achieve all the war objectives we set after the horrific attack on October 7, the worst attack on Jews since the Holocaust. We will eliminate Hamas’s military capability and its political rule in Gaza, we will bring all our hostages home and we will ensure that Gaza never again poses a threat to Israel. The unequivocal support of the United States on Gaza will help us achieve these objectives faster and set us on a path for a different future.
“Secretary Rubio and I discussed President Trump’s bold vision for Gaza, for Gaza’s future, how we can work together to ensure that that future becomes a reality.
“We also discussed the situation in Syria after the collapse of [Bashar] Assad’s regime, a collapse that was made possible by Israel’s weakening of Iran’s terror axis, especially the weakening of Hezbollah and the removal of [it chief, Hassan] Nasrallah.
“For over a decade before October 7, Israel acted to prevent Iran from developing a new terror front, new terror fronts against us in Syria, right opposite the Golan Heights and deeper in Syria. And we conducted hundreds of airstrikes, perhaps a thousand, in order to prevent it. And we did.
“Now, if any other force in Syria today believes that Israel will permit other hostile forces to use Syria as a base of operations against us, they are gravely mistaken. Israel will act to prevent any threat from emerging near our border in southwest Syria.
“The secretary and I discussed Lebanon as well. Israel is committed to the ceasefire understandings that were reached in November. We expect the government of Lebanon to be equally committed to their fulfillment.
“The scenes we saw this weekend in Beirut of UNIFIL forces being attacked by Hezbollah, this was not encouraging. The two U.N. resolutions that everyone refers to, 1559 and 1701, well, they must be fully implemented.
“Hezbollah must be disarmed. And Israel would prefer that the Lebanese army do that job, but no one should doubt that Israel will do what it has to do to enforce the understandings of the ceasefire and defend our security.
“The secretary and I also discussed how the many international institutions that have been hijacked and turned into anti-American and anti-Israeli forums. We see that in the U.N. General Assembly, in the U.N. Human Rights Council, where anti-Americanism is rampant, and more U.N. resolutions are passed about Israel than the rest of the world combined.
“And we see it especially in the lawfare that is being waged against America and Israel at the ICC [International Criminal Court], the ICJ [International Court of Justice] and elsewhere. The ICC has outrageously libeled Israel and issued arrest warrants based on utter lies. Like America, Israel is not subject to the jurisdiction of the ICC and does not accept the court’s authority.
“Israel commends President Trump and his administration for restoring his executive order against the ICC and for moving quickly to sanction ICC officials.
“The secretary and I discussed working together to formulate a common strategy to deal with the threat of lawfare and neutralize this threat once and for all.
“So, these are some of the issues we discussed today. Believe it or not, there were more. Many more. We can say that the Middle East today has many opportunities, many challenges and we think we can realize the opportunities and also meet the challenges. And I have no doubt that working together, America and Israel will overcome the challenges and seize the opportunities.
“I have to say that I’m absolutely confident that under President Trump’s leadership, and working together with you, Secretary Rubio, Marco, the best days of our alliance are still yet to come.
“Welcome to Jerusalem. Welcome, my friend.”
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio:
“It is an honor to be back here. I’ve been here many times before, as an American visiting and then as a member of the United States Senate, but now, for the first time, as the secretary of state of the United States. And it’s an honor to be here, and it’s an honor to serve in this role on behalf of President Donald Trump, who as you’ve accurately stated, Mr. Prime Minister, is a tremendous friend of Israel. There has been no stronger ally for Israel in the White House than President Trump.
“He’s also a man that speaks clearly and unambiguously and makes clear his views on issues. The first [thing] he’s made clear, and as you’ve pointed out, the hostages need to come home. They need to be released. And you work in very close coordination with him.
“He’s working in very close coordination with the prime minister and his government and ensuring that that happens. That must happen. It’s not optional. And I would add that that is a goal we share in common and that is something we work on very closely together.
“The president has also been very bold about his view of what the future of Gaza should be. Not the same tired ideas of the past, but something that is new and bold and something that frankly took courage and vision in order to outline. And it may have shocked and surprised many, but what cannot continue is the same cycle where we repeat over and over again and wind up in the exact same place.
“Related to that, the president has been very clear: Hamas cannot continue as a military or government force. And frankly, as long as it stands as a force that can govern or a force that can administer or a force that can threaten by use of violence, peace becomes impossible. They must be eliminated. It must be eradicated.
“Iran is the single greatest source of instability in the region. Behind every terrorist group, behind every act of violence, behind every destabilizing activity, behind everything that threatens peace and stability for the millions of people who call this region home, is Iran.
“And by Iran, I mean the ayatollahs. By Iran, I mean its regime, a regime who by the way, its people don’t support. The people of Iran are victims of that regime.
“There can never be a nuclear Iran. A nuclear Iran, that could then hold itself immune from pressure and from action. That can never happen. The president’s been clear about that as well.
“Israel is an extraordinary story of bravery. A nation founded in the ashes and in the aftermath of a horrifying crime against humanity. It stood from its very inception, from the very day of its birth against threats from every angle and every corner and has served as an example to the world of a pluralistic society, a free-enterprise democracy.
“If there were more Israels in the Middle East, more countries like that, the world would be a safer and a better place. And this is what we hope for the region and for our planet.
“A nation that has always sought peace but will not allow itself to be intimidated or destroyed by its enemies. And on that front, you can always count on us.”
