The following is the text of a speech delivered by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at a U.S. Embassy in Israel event on Tuesday night at the Museum of Tolerance in Jerusalem celebrating 249 years of American Independence. (The event was originally scheduled for July 4 but was postponed due to the Israel-Iran war in June.) The address was given hours after an Israeli strike in Doha, Qatar targeted Hamas’s political leaders.
Ambassador Huckabee, Janet, and all the friends of Israel and America, of the Israeli-American alliance who are here, I want to first tell you that Sara and I planned to be here earlier, but we were, well, I was otherwise engaged.
But it’s not too late, even on this belated day, to say Happy Birthday, America.
Now, I said a few more words in a video that I had recorded earlier and I think it’s going to be shown outside in the large gathering that you have there. And I meant it from the heart. Because Israel has no greater friend than America and America has no better friend than Israel.
But as I said, we’ve been busy. In the last day, after the horrific murders in Jerusalem, horrible murders, and of course the four soldiers that we lost in Gaza. And I want to say a few words about that, first in Hebrew and then in English.
Yesterday, four of our soldiers were killed by Hamas terrorists in Gaza and six Israeli civilians were brutally murdered at a bus stop in Jerusalem. This morning, Hamas proudly took credit for both of these actions. At noon today, I convened the heads of Israel’s security organizations and authorized a surgical precision strike on the terrorist chiefs of Hamas. These are the same terrorists, terrorist chiefs, who planned, launched and celebrated the horrific massacres of October 7th: the savage murder of 1,200 people, the beheading of men, the rape and murder of women, the burning of babies, the taking of over 250 hostages, innocent hostages: grandmothers, grandchildren, Holocaust survivors. They perpetrated the worst attack on the Jewish people since the Holocaust.
Now, they were meeting in the same place, exactly the same place where they celebrated this savagery almost two years ago. At the beginning of the war, I promised that Israel would reach those who perpetrated this horror. And today, Israel and I have kept that promise.
Now, much of the world, including much of the democratic world, or governments at least, have shamefully, shamefully forgotten October 7th. But I don’t forget, and Israel will never forget. Never.
There was a time when Jews could be murdered with impunity. But since the founding of the State of Israel, those days are over.
On this day, as in previous days, Israel acted wholly independently, and we take full responsibility for this action. This action can open the door to an end of the war, end of the war in Gaza. Israel has accepted the principles, proposal put forward by President Trump to end the war, beginning with the immediate release of all our hostages which have been held in the dungeons of Gaza for 700 days. If President Trump’s proposal is accepted, the war can end immediately. We can begin once again to pursue the expansion of peace in our region for the benefit of all.
But I want to close by directing my words to the people of Gaza: Don’t be derailed by these murderous terrorists, by these killers. They don’t care a hoot about you. They live in sumptuous villas, you can’t imagine how sumptuous, away from this battle scene. Their partners in Gaza don’t worry about you, they go to the underground tunnels and they keep you above ground so you serve as human shields for them. Don’t be derailed by these killers. Stand up for your rights and for your future. Make peace with us. Accept President Trump’s proposal. Don’t worry. You can do it and we can promise you a different future but you’ve got to take these people out of the way. If you do, there is no limit to our common future.
Thank you.
Now, having taken so much time, I want to praise again the hospitality of our hosts: Mike Huckabee and Janet. I have to say, if we had five or six more Mike Huckabees, Israel wouldn’t have a hasbara problem.
Thank you.
