Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said at the UN on Friday that operations against Hezbollah will continue, dampening hopes of a 21-day truce proposed by France and the United States this week.
“As long as Hezbollah chooses the path of war, Israel has no choice, and Israel has every right to remove this threat and return our citizens to their homes safe,” Netanyahu told the UN General Assembly, adding that operations against the militant group will “continue until we meet our objectives.”
Delegates, including from Lebanon and the Palestinian territories, exited the room as Netanyahu took the rostrum for his address amid a mix of cheers and angry yells.
“After I heard the lies and slanders leveled at my country by many of the speakers at this podium, I decided to come here and set the record straight,” Netanyahu said at the start of his speech.
Ahead of his speech, protesters gathered outside Netanyahu’s hotel in New York to demand an end to the violence in Gaza and Lebanon.
Warning Iran
Netanyahu warned Iran that it will strike if it is hit first and said his country can reach any part of the cleric-run state. “I have a message for the tyrants of Tehran. If you strike us, we will strike you,” Netanyahu told the UN General Assembly.
“There is no place in Iran that the long arm of Israel cannot reach, and that’s true of the entire Middle East.” Netanyahu revealed that Israel’s actions have delayed Iran’s nuclear weapons program but have not stopped it. He presented two maps to the General Assembly, one showcasing the countries that pose as a blessing to Israel and another showing the countries posing as a curse to the Hebrew state.
“The question before us is simple,” he said asking “Which of these two maps I’ve shown you will shape our futures?” Israel has made its choice, he says, moving toward peace with Arabs and crushing Iran’s proxies.
‘Hamas Has to Go’
Netanyahu then turned to Hamas, accusing them of stealing humanitarian aid then selling it to their people. “This too has to end, and we are working to bring it to an end. If Hamas stays in power, it will regroup and rearm and attack Israel again and again and again as it has vowed to do,” he said, adding that “Hamas has got to go.”
He says it is “inconceivable” and “ridiculous” that Hamas could be part of reconstructing Gaza and that Israel will reject any plan that includes them. Israel will support any civil administration in Gaza that is peaceful, he says. He went on to call the United Nations a “contemptuous farce” as he denounced the world body’s unfair treatment of his country.
“I say to you, until Israel — until the Jewish state — is treated like other nations, until this anti-Semitic swamp is drained, the UN will be viewed by fair-minded people everywhere as nothing more than a contemptuous farce,” he said.
With AFP
