The notion that a Palestinian state will produce peace is “folly, nothing more than folly,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told the JNS International Policy Summit in Jerusalem on Sunday evening.
“I’m saying this for the ambassadors who are here—all of you know this,” he said. “We just tried a Palestinian state in Gaza,” he continued. “You saw what that brought, right?”
The Jewish state had been “attacked savagely, horribly” on Oct. 7, 2023, said Netanyahu. When German Chancellor Olaf Schultz, who visited Israel early in the war, “saw the film of the horrors and visited the sites, he said there: they’re exactly like the Nazis,” the Israeli premier recalled.
“And I said, well, they’re different. Not in intent, not in savagery—but the Nazis tried to hide their crimes. And these people carry GoPro cameras, live, you know, they’re ecstatic about the blood they shed, the people they butcher, the women they rape, the men they beheaded, the babies they burned,” he continued.
“You cannot build peace and security on lies. If you do so, sooner or later, these lies will crash on the realities of the Middle East,” he said.
The premier spoke for some 30 minutes about the ongoing seven-front war, which he said was “really a one-front war with Iran and its proxies.”
With regard to the Gaza Strip, he said, “There’s still more to be done.” Israel must finish the war in Gaza, “get our hostages back and destroy Hamas. Hamas will not be there and we’re not going to put the P.A. there,” he said, referring to the Palestinian Authority.
“Why replace one regime that is sworn to our destruction with another regime that is sworn to our destruction?” asked the longtime leader.
Israel will “in any case” control Gaza militarily, according to Netanyahu.
“So what’s left? Well, quite a few things and many opportunities, but obviously they’ll all go down the tube if Iran gets nuclear weapons,” he added, vowing to work with Washington to ensure that Tehran will not be able to enrich uranium under a possible deal.
Turning to Lebanon, Netanyahu said that the Sept. 27 Israel Defense Forces operation that killed Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Lebanon’s Hezbollah terrorist army, “really broke” the axis of evil headed by Tehran.
“It was a terrific blow. Some people are irreplaceable. And so far, he’s been irreplaceable,” he said. “And so having delivered that blow to Hezbollah, we also delivered a blow to [former Syrian dictator Bashar] Assad, because Assad was relying heavily on Nasrallah,” he continued.
With regard to Yemen’s Houthi rebels, who on Sunday launched yet another ballistic missile attack on Israel, Netanyahu expressed his appreciation for U.S. efforts to combat the threat.
“We appreciate the fact that the United States is taking action against the Houthis,” he said. “We appreciate the help that we’re getting from the United States. Arms are flowing in. It’s important we share the same goals, but we have to make sure that Iran does not get nuclear weapons.”
Israel needs support rather than U.S. boots on the ground, he emphasized. “That support means that the U.N. Security Council does not make binding resolutions against Israel. It means that Israel is not sanctioned, is not choked by the international community—and that support is being threatened by the systemic public opinion campaign,” he continued.
“And if there’s one thing that has to be done it is to fight back,” the prime minister concluded. “So I ask you to continue to fight for the truth.”
