Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed the cadets who graduated from the IDF's Ground Forces Combat Officers Course on Wednesday.
During his address, the Prime Minister discussed the current rift in the nation, stating, "It is important for me to emphasize, especially now, that our enemies do not differentiate between this or that camp, between the Right and the Left, between the secular and the religious or the ultra-orthodox. Neither do they differentiate between Jews and non-Jews. As far as they are concerned, we are all targets; moreover, targets for destruction. Therefore, we must all stand together in order to defend our country."
Netanyahu also mentioned the renewed calls to refuse to report to military duty amid protests against the government's judicial reform legislation. "There are no grounds for refusal to serve, on any side, nor will there be. We have one country, one army, and one home. We will stand guard over our home like brothers and sisters, and if the day comes, we will stand behind the flag united and be determined like an iron fist."
Earlier in his address, Prime Minister Netanyahu discussed recent operational developments in the military, "We prove to our enemies, almost on a daily basis, that we are determined to change the equation of forces with the terrorist organizations and other enemies. We did so in Operation Guardians of the Walls, in which we set Hamas back a decade, in Operation Shield and Arrow, in which we targeted the Islamic Jihad leadership, and a week ago on the outskirts of Jenin when we used UAVs to target a terrorist cell that was about to perpetrate an attack," he recounted, and added, "Our policy of changing the equation is relevant and applicable in wider circles as well. Whoever decides to test us, inside Israel's borders and beyond, will bring destruction on himself. We will not hesitate to use force and, if necessary, to strike the enemy's center of gravity."