Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Mossad Director David Barnea attended the award ceremony for the Prime Minister's Prize for Mossad operations in 2023-2024 on Wednesday night, ahead of the Jewish New Year. The event, held with Mossad personnel, commanders, and members of the intelligence and security communities, recognized exceptional achievements in safeguarding Israel's security.
The Prime Minister's Prize is awarded for pioneering and inspirational operations, selected for their significant security and intelligence contributions to the State of Israel. The winning operations were described as representing the "tip of the iceberg" of the Mossad's extensive efforts over the past two years.
Prime Minister Netanyahu praised the operation conducted in Iran. "This operation was done with great effort, one of which was very great. I decided to call it 'Operation Rising Lion'. Why a lion? Because the people rose up. The entire people rose up," he said.
Reflecting on other operations, the Prime Minister added, "Then we spoke here about Haniyeh. It was not a simple operation. And Nasrallah? Not a simple operation, nor was it self-evident. You have pagers here? And the pagers. Of course, I knew that it was not the pagers but the people, the work. This was the first large-scale targeted counter-terrorist operation in history."
He emphasized the existential threat posed by Iran's nuclear ambitions and underscored the Mossad's central role in thwarting it: "We were forced to take immediate action because if we hadn’t acted, within a year this threat would have been over our heads, and would have beheaded the country."
"I am convinced that the people of Israel, this lion people, has the forces, the strength of spirit, the creativity, the heroism, the daring and the determination to ensure its future, for us, our children, our grandchildren and the generations that will follow us," Netanyahu concluded.
Mossad Director Barnea also addressed the ceremony, commending the personnel for their achievements: "Exactly one year and two hours ago, at 15:30, the Prime Minister gave the order to carry out the pagers operation which was followed by plans for an IDF assault to defeat Nasrallah and banish the threat on our northern border. The elimination of Nasrallah and the Hezbollah leadership ten days later ended whatever weak hopes they had left. The spirit of the enemy was broken."
Barnea highlighted the significance of "Operation Rising Lion," led by the IDF with Mossad cooperation. "We managed to land a harsh and painful blow on the enemy, which posed an existential threat to the State of Israel."
"We indeed proved that Iran is penetrable, but we did not relent," he added. "The Mossad has very good capabilities for action, more phenomenal than in the past, and greater strength mainly inside Iran and also in the heart of Tehran."
Barnea concluded by thanking the Prime Minister for his support: "Prime Minister, on behalf of all the men and women of the Mossad, thank you for the backing that you have given us to lead these imaginative operations. One needs a developed imagination, and leadership, not only to guide these operations but also to approve them."
"We will continue to act, next year as well, in light of the Mossad vision: 'We will strive for excellence and turn vision into reality.'"