Citizens of Israel, we are facing two fronts in the battle. One front - Gaza. I said that we would exact a very heavy price from Hamas and the rest of the terrorist organizations, we are doing this and we will continue to do so with great force.

The last word has not yet been spoken and this operation will continue as long as it takes to restore peace and security to the State of Israel.

The second front - the cities of Israel. I said today and I say it again: we give one hundred percent backing to the police officers, the Border Police and the rest of the security forces to restore law and order to the cities of Israel - we will not tolerate anarchy.

We give backing to the police to use all means with all the powers, including the participation of IDF soldiers, including the participation of the Israel Security Agency - we have given powers of emergency here. All these measures are important, legitimate and necessary to stop this rioting within the State of Israel.

I once again call on the citizens of Israel not to take the law into their own hands, whoever does so will be severely punished.

I would like to express condolences to the families who lost their loved ones - the families of the 5-year-old Ido Avigal and the soldier Omer Tabib and five other families of five civilians who unfortunately lost their lives.

We will act with all our might against enemies on the outside and outlaws on the inside in order to restore peace to the State of Israel.