Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed the Jewish News Syndicate (JNS) International Policy Summit on Sunday, declaring that Israel has achieved historic victories against Iran and its proxies and vowing that the Jewish state will continue to defend itself on every front.
Netanyahu opened his remarks by addressing claims about his relationship with US President Donald Trump.
“In the United States, they say that President Trump does everything that I ask him to do, and in Israel, they say that I do everything he wants me to do. Neither is true," Netanyahu said. “We're leaders of independent and proud countries. We stand for our interests. I stand for the interests of Israel and for its security."
The Prime Minister recalled that many opposed the major military decisions he made over the past year.
“They told me not to enter Rafah. I entered Rafah. I was told not to strike Hezbollah. We struck Hezbollah. They told me not to confront Iran. We confronted Iran," Netanyahu said.
He rejected attempts to downplay Israel’s achievements in the war, stating that the country had eliminated an existential threat.
“We prevented Iran from carrying out a plan to annihilate us. And today, they would have had a nuclear weapon, an atomic bomb to do so. We prevented that from happening," he said.
Netanyahu praised the joint Israeli-American campaign against Iran, saying Israel and the United States carried out “the largest airstrike in our history," destroying Iranian nuclear infrastructure, eliminating senior nuclear scientists, damaging Iran’s military capabilities, and striking the regime’s economic foundations.
“We created the conditions for its future fall. That is what will be the real triumph - when the Iranian people take their own destiny in their hands and they knock out this brutal regime that is terrorizing them and terrorizing the rest of the world," he said.
The Prime Minister also listed Israel’s achievements against Iran’s terror network.
“We shattered Iran’s terror axis," Netanyahu declared, noting the elimination of Hamas leaders Yahya Sinwar, Ismail Haniyeh, and Mohammed Deif, along with tens of thousands of terrorists.
He said Israel’s military pressure in Gaza brought about the return of the hostages.
“We brought back every single hostage. Every last one of them," he said. “We got them back because we put our brave soldiers, our incomparably heroic soldiers, right into their stronghold in Gaza."
Turning to Lebanon, Netanyahu pointed to the severe damage inflicted on Hezbollah.
“We took out Nasrallah. We decimated Hezbollah’s military machine. We prevented the Radwan force from invading the Galilee. We destroyed over 90% of the 150,000 rockets and missiles that Hezbollah amassed against us," he stated.
Netanyahu emphasized that Israel would continue maintaining security zones wherever necessary.
“We established a security zone in Gaza. We established a security zone in Syria. We established a security zone in Lebanon. And we shall keep it as long as is necessary to protect our people," he said.
The Prime Minister said one of Israel’s greatest accomplishments was changing its approach to threats.
“We changed Israel’s security doctrine. We initiate, we attack, we surprise, and we attack those enemies that seek our destruction before they have a chance to do so," Netanyahu said.
Speaking just hours after attending the memorial marking 50 years since the fall of his brother, Lt. Col. Yoni Netanyahu, the Prime Minister recalled his father’s warning about the Iranian threat and vowed to continue his mission.
“No matter what happens in the talks, with an agreement, without an agreement, I pledge to you that Iran, as long as I'm prime minister, will never have a nuclear weapon. Never," Netanyahu said to a standing ovation.
He also defended Israel’s continued presence in southern Lebanon, comparing it to what any country would do if terrorists attacked its citizens from across the border.
“As long as we need to protect our people, we will remain in the security zone in South Lebanon," he said.
Netanyahu rejected accusations against Israel’s conduct in battle, saying the IDF makes unprecedented efforts to avoid civilian casualties.
“No army goes to such lengths like the Israeli army to target terrorists and minimize civilian casualties. We should be commended for it, not condemned," he said.
He said that no other nation, including the US, would act differently if faced with the same threats. "No country would be asked to do otherwise. Now, you imagine the United States. Across the border, you have thousands, an army of thousands of terrorists who pellet your cities and your towns with rockets and ballistic missiles and killer drones. They kill your soldiers, they kill your citizens, they kill your children. And they threaten them every day. Well, what would America do? Would it say, well, there's nothing we can do? Let's hold our fire? Is that what America would say?"
"No, you know damn well what America would do. It would cross the border, create a security zone, kill the terrorists and protect its people until the threat is removed. That's exactly what we are doing. And let me tell you something else. No country would do it better. No country would do it better because the terrorists do not just target civilians, they also hide among their own civilians," Netanyahu said.
At the conclusion of his speech, Netanyahu addressed the rise in global antisemitism and urged Jews around the world not to remain silent.
“Stand up. Don’t cower. Don’t be afraid. Fight back, because people will only respect us if we respect ourselves," he said. “Stand up for the truth. Stand up for Israel. Stand up for the Jewish people. Stand up for the Jewish future," the Prime Minister said as the entire audience rose to applaud him.