Iran’s “unrelenting aggression” and deep commitment to genocide is the most serious threat facing Israel, Netanyahu told the AIPAC conference. He also demonstrated the profound incitement to terror within the Palestinian Authority.
Addressing the annual policy conference of the bi-partisan American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) in Washington via satellite feed, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expressed appreciation to both Republican and Democratic presidential candidates who recognized the importance of the strong Israel-US alliance.
Netanyahu began his talk on Tuesday by expressing condolences to the families of the victims of the Islamic terror attacks in Belgium that morning, in which at least 34 people were killed and scores wounded.
“The chain of attacks from Paris to San Bernardino to Istanbul to the Ivory Coast and now to Brussels, and the daily attacks in Israel – this is one continuous assault on all of us,” he stated.
“In all these cases the terrorists have no resolvable grievances. It’s not as if we could offer them Brussels, or Istanbul, or California, or even the West Bank [Judea and Samaria]. That won’t satisfy their grievances.”
“Because what they seek is our utter destruction and their total domination. Their basic demand is that we should simply disappear. Well, my friends, that’s not going to happen. The only way to defeat these terrorists is to join together and fight them together.”
‘Americans and Israelis Working Together’
A woman is evacuated after an explosion in Brussels on Tuesday. (AP/Virginia Mayo)
Thanking the AIPAC leadership and the majority of the American people for their “overwhelming support for Israel,” as well as Congress for the “strong bipartisan support,” Netanyahu specifically recognized Washington’s contribution to Israel’s defense, citing the state-of-the-art Arrow missile defense system – the “product of Americans and Israelis working together.”
“US President Barack Obama America has generously provided Israel with many of the tools we need to defend ourselves,” Netanyahu said. “We are now working on a new agreement to help bolster Israel’s security in the years to come. I hope we can conclude that agreement soon.”
Collaboration with Israel is increasing on a global level not only in the war against “militant Islam and its accompanying terrorism,” but also in recognition of Israel’s economic, medical and technological expertise, Netanyahu noted “Every day high-level delegations land at Ben-Gurion Airport,” the Israeli leader said. “They come from America. They come from Europe. Increasingly they come from Asia, from Africa, from Latin America.”
Israel Has Diplomatic Ties with 161 Countries
Israel now has diplomatic ties with 161 countries – “more than at any time in our history,” Netanyahu stated. “And by the way, there are not that many countries left. There are only about 200 countries in the world.”
Nonetheless, he continued, the Jewish state continues to face serious challenges, including the Iranian threat. “And of these challenges, none is greater than Iran’s unrelenting aggression. Iran remains fully committed to genocide – our genocide,” he declared, calling on both those who supported the nuclear deal and those who opposed it to try halting the Iranian aggression and hold the Iranians accountable, “at the very least.”
Citing profound Palestinian incitement to terror coupled with extreme anti-Israel bias at the UN, Netanyahu said he “was glad to hear the presidential candidates from both parties reaffirm this basic principle. Peace won’t come through UN Security Council resolutions, but through direct negotiations between the parties.
Palestinian Authority head Mahmoud Abbas “has helped inculcate a new generation of young Palestinians with murderous hatred for Israel. Palestinian children are taught to stab Jews,” he stressed, at which point he showed the following shocking video.
https://youtu.be/j1IeD-D2Dpc
“This is sick. It’s inexcusable,” Netanyahu said. “That little girl wasn’t born hating. She was taught to hate, as were the Palestinians who murdered the American student Taylor Force, and other American citizens in recent months.”
Yet “Abbas’s Fatah movement praised Taylor’s killer as – and I quote this – as ‘a hero and a martyr.’ Now, that’s not from Hamas; that’s coming from Abbas…
“If the international community really wants to advance peace, it must demand that the Palestinians stop poisoning the minds of their children. If the international community wants to advance peace, it must address the true core of the conflict: the persistent Palestinian refusal to accept a Jewish state in any borders.”
Netanyahu reiterated his formula for an Israeli-Palestinian peace agreement as “two states for two peoples, in which a demilitarized Palestinian state finally recognizes the Jewish state,” he asserted.
“Let me state unequivocally, and here’s the acid test: I am ready to begin such negotiations immediately, without preconditions, anytime, anywhere. That’s a fact. But President Abbas is not ready to do so. That’s also a fact. There is political will here in Jerusalem. There’s no political will there in Ramallah.”
However, a unique opportunity exists due to Israel’s longstanding peace agreements with Jordan and Egypt as well as the recognition of “common interests” with Israel among other nations in the region, including the threats from Iran and Islamic State. “This is a historic change,” he affirmed.
By: Terri Nir, United with Israel