Israel
Israel will win ‘because we don’t have a choice’, says Netanyahu in UN speech
The prime minister insisted that the world’s ‘appeasement’ of Iran must come to an end
September 27, 2024 16:02
The prime minister insisted that the world’s ‘appeasement’ of Iran must come to an end
September 27, 2024 16:02Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to continue striking Hezbollah until “our objectives are met” in a combative speech to the United Nations.
The Israeli prime minister was speaking as the IDF stepped up attacks in Lebanon that have put Hezbollah on the back foot.
He also told the global body’s General Assembly that he would fight until “total victory” was achieved over Hamas unless hostages seized on October 7 were released.
“This war can come to an end now – all that has to happen is for Hamas to surrender, lay down its arms and release all the hostages,” Netanyahu said.
Discussing the 60,000 Israelis displaced from their homes near the Lebanese border thanks to Hezbollah strikes he asked: “How long would the American government tolerate that?”
“I’ve come here to say, enough is enough,” he said. “We won’t rest until our citizens return safely to our homes.
“For 18 years Hezbollah brazenly refuses to implement UNSC resolution 1701.”
The UN directive demands that the militia move beyond the Litani River, a step that would allow Israeli residents to return to their home without fearing further strikes.
Hezbollah, Netanyahu claimed, endangers Lebanese civilians by “put[ing] a missile in every kitchen, a rocket in every garage.”
In a familiar move, Netanyahu brandished two colourful diagrams as he spoke.
One, labelled "the blessing," showed Egypt, India, Saudi Arabia and Sudan coloured green. The other, labelled "the curse," showed Iran, Syria, Iraq and a region of Yemen controlled by the Houthis in black.
“The question before us is simple,” Netanyahu said. “Which of these two maps I’ve shown you will shape our futures?”
The Likud party leader added: “For too long the world has appeased Iran. That appeasement must end and that appeasement must end now.”
The UN Security Council should impose "snapback" sanctions on the Islamic republic for its nuclear programme, he demanded.
Stating that Israel is engaged in a seven-front war, Netanyahu added: “I have a message for the tyrants of Tehran. If you strike us, we will strike you.
“There is no place in Iran where the long arm of Israel cannot reach. And that is true for the entire Middle East.”
A deal between Saudi Arabia and Israel was close before the October 7 attack, Netanyahu also claimed.
The kingdom's ambassador to Britain has insisted that while the country is interested in normalising relations with Jerusalem it will not happen without the creation of a Palestinian state, which Netanyahu has vowed to block.
"We were close to normalisation, therefore close to a Palestinian state. One doesn't come without the other. The sequencing, how it is managed, that is what was being discussed," Prince Khalid bin Bandar told the BBC earlier this year.
Netanyahu also said that Israel crushed Hamas’s infastructure and prevented its ability to rule Gaza.
“If Hamas stays in power, it will regroup and rearm and attack Israel again and again and again as it has vowed to do,” he said. “Hamas has got to go.”
In a recent filing to Israel’s High Court of Justice, however, his government admitted that the terror group’s military capabilities have “yet to be eliminated” and that it still has the ability to exercise governmental authority in the enclave.
“We don’t seek to resettle Gaza,” Netanyahu also said.
While he did not plan to address the UN this year, Netanyahu said, he decided to after hearing "lies and slanders" from the international body.
“Israel seeks peace, Israel yearns for peace, Israel has made peace and will make peace again,” he said.
“Yet we seek savage enemies who seek our annihilation.”