Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar spoke Thursday at a trilateral summit with Greece and Cyprus - the first such summit since September 2023.
He stressed that the summit promotes cooperation between the three countries, and that such cooperation is the "basis for regional stability and cooperation," and enables cooperation on economics and security in the region.
'Israel's achievements since we were attacked on October 7 demonstrated resilience and have changed the Middle East," Sa'ar said. "We believe that with our great friend President Trump in the white house we will change the region for years to come."
Regarding the situation in Syria, Sa'ar said, "Israel did not shed a tear over the fall of [Syrian President Bashar al-]Assad's regime. Yet the al-Julani regime of Damascus, which was not democratically elected," has caused chaos throughout Syria. He also noted the recent massacre against the Alawite community, many of whom were "barbarically butchered."
"Europe must play a part in protecting Syrian minorities," he stressed.
Sa'ar also noted that "Iran is working hard to fund Hezbollah and help restore its power... There is now an opportunity for a better future for Lebanon, an opportunity to break free from Iranian occupation."
For this to happen, however, "the international community must ensure that the Lebanese army will be stronger than Hezbollah."
Regarding the war against the Hamas terror group in Gaza, Sa'ar said the Israel has agreed to US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff's proposal to extend the ceasefire, but in the long term "will not agree to anything less than the complete demilitarization of the Gaza strip and Hamas and the return of all our hostages."
Sa'ar also responded to the United Nations report claiming Israel is guilty of war crimes: "Today we've seen an unbelievable blood libel. The UN published one of the worst blood libels the world has ever seen, and we have seen many."
"Hamas is the organization that has committed horrific sexual crimes against Israelis on October 7," he added.
"Tonight the Jewish world will celebrate the holiday of Purim," he noted, adding that in Persia, Haman sought to destroy the Jewish people - and failed. "Today Iran seeks to eliminate the Jewish state."
"Iran is the main destabilizer of our region, and the enemy of all of western civilization. I believe that once again, our enemies will fail, and we will rejoice."
Concluding his speech, Sa'ar congratulated Greece's president-elect on his victory in the elections, and thanked the ministers for their hospitality.
He also stressed that "Israel's position is very clear: Israel supports Cyprus' independence, and opposes Turkish takeover of Cypriot territory."
Sa'ar also discussed humanitarian aid to Gaza, noting that "within 42 days we brought into Gaza 25,000 trucks, there's no shortage of any basic commodities in Gaza. But the facts are that this is, today, 50% of the budget of Hamas in Gaza Strip comes from these trucks."
"This is used in order to pay for Hamas activists and also to recruit new terrorists to Hamas and to restore its power" to continue its terrorist activities. This, Sa'ar stressed, "is something that we must take into consideration. I don't believe that in any other part of the world it is expected from a country to finance the war against it. So we had demonstrated during the last year and a half a commitment to facilitate the entrance of goods into Gaza Strip, and we had done it and we also fulfilled fully our commitment during the temporary ceasefire. but we will have to change a couple of things in order that it wont be a tool or a vehicle or a means to restore Hamas."