Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said Israel had “endured several tense days” this week, alluding to a major escalation on the border with Lebanon Sunday, when Hezbollah terrorists fired a barrage of anti-tank missiles at IDF positions.
“We endured several tense days on many fronts. We could have started the week completely differently, but we acted with a combination of decisiveness and sagacity, and we achieved all of our goals,” Netanyahu said at a Cabinet meeting Tuesday.
“I defined three main goals for the IDF and the security arms in the following order: First of all, to stop and prevent the Iranian nuclear project.”
“Second, to prevent Iran from supplying our enemies and its proxies, such as Hezbollah and others, with precision weapons that endanger us. And third, to prevent Iran and its proxies from entrenching on our borders. In effect, we are acting vis-à-vis all of these goals, in part openly and a considerable part covertly. We are determined to maintain the security of Israel.”
The Prime Minister praised the governments of Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates for condemning Hezbollah following the missile attack Sunday.
“I welcome the remarks by the foreign ministers of Bahrain and the UAE against Hezbollah’s aggression. They condemned the helplessness of Lebanon, which allows the Hezbollah terrorist organization to operate from its territory against Israel. This sounds like the Messianic times, but it shows the fundamental change taking place in the Middle East. The Arab world also understands that the Iranian aggression endangers not only Israel, but the entire region as well. I call on additional countries to come out against the aggression of Iran and its proxies.”
Netanyahu also thanked the Trump administration for its recent sanctions against the Iranian-backed terrorist group Hezbollah.
“I would like to take this opportunity to again thank President Trump and secretary of State Pompeo, who took the bank that provides Hezbollah with most of its funds and put it on the sanctions list. This is very important.”