Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu insisted that while the state of Israel greatly appreciates the important support it receives from the United States, it must “always remember and implement the basic rule that has guided us; Israel will defend itself, by itself, against any threat.”
During a State memorial ceremony in Jerusalem for the fallen of the 1973 Yom Kippur War, the Israeli Premier clarified that “We do not aspire to be ‘a people that dwells alone’ but thus we were forced to stand at the start of the Yom Kippur War; only towards the end did the American aid arrive.” He then added, “Like in 1973, today we very much appreciate the important support of the US, which has greatly increased in recent years,” before turning to what he believes is one of the Jewish State’s greatest current existential threat, thanking Washington for “major economic pressure that the US is using on Iran. “
Netanyahu went on to tell those gathered that, “The current focus of aggression in the Middle East is the Iranian regime in Tehran. Iran is striving to tighten its grip in Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Yemen and the Gaza Strip. It is relentlessly arming itself. It is equipping its proxies with dangerous weaponry. It is attacking freedom of navigation in international shipping lanes. It downed a large American UAV. It mounted a crude and unprecedented attack on Saudi oil fields. It has repeatedly crossed its threshold of brazenness. Iran threatens to wipe us off the map. It says explicitly: ‘Israel will disappear.’ It has tried to attack us repeatedly; therefore, we must stand ready to defend ourselves against danger.”
Declaring that the IDF is ‘prepared to preempt any threat, defensively and offensively, with crushing strength of both spirit and weaponry,’ the Israeli leader reminded listeners that ‘the enemies of the past are no longer eager to confront the Jewish State.’