Israel marked yesterday an official Memorial Day for assassinated Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, who was murdered by an ultra-nationalist Israeli, Yigal Amir, who opposed political concessions made by Rabin’s government to the Palestinians. During a special memorial ceremony in Israel’s Parliament, the Knesset, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected allegations by his political opponents whom accuse the Israeli leader of being responsible for the incitement which led to the assassination, stressing that there were ongoing attempts by his opponents to distort the historical truth. Netanyahu declared that the Rabin assassination was a shocking political assassination that everyone decries. The Israeli leader also took the opportunity to reiterate his position, in which there is no better friend to the Jewish state than the United States of America, while emphasizing that the friendship between the two countries aligns with Jerusalem’s unwavering loyalty to Washington.
“Israel has no closer friend or more important friend than the US, and the US has no loyal friend as Israel is. The alliance between the two countries is strong, firm and stable. We recently signed off on the largest military aid package in the history of the US, for this I thank President Obama as I gaze forward. President-elect Donald Trump, a true friend to Israel, we know each other well, we spoke last week after the elections and I look forward to his invitation to Washington and for a full cooperation and to add significant layers to relations between the two states,” said Netanyahu, who also referred to the challenges which Israel faced during the time of late Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, while noting that the situation has not changed regarding acts of terror committed by Palestinians against Israelis, whom actively seek the destruction of the Jewish state.
“The harsh terror attacks, during those years and since then taught us, sadly, that there is no respite in the fight against our enemies. To my disappointment the Palestinian society continues until today to award murderers, the harsh incitement against Jews and against Israel continues. Terrorist organization reiterate their desire to demolish the state of Israel. They have a clear objective, to return to Haifa, as they say, to Jaffa, to Acre and to uproot us from our country. And like Rabin we also extend time after time our hand for peace, a hand for negotiations without pre-conditions. Time after time. We also stand strong against international attempts to force us into one side arrangements. International arrangements or coercion attempts that will only stiffen the Palestine demands and distance peace,” said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. He concluded his address by referring to Israel’s arch enemy, the Islamic Republic of Iran, which declared time-and-time-again its desire to destroy the state of Israel. Netanyahu warned that Tehran did not abandon its aspirations to acquire nuclear weapons, while continuously arming regional proxies with dangerous-weapons to advance terror across the Middle East.
“The Iranian regime has announced many times its aspirations to annihilate Israel, and it has yet to forsake its nuclear plans. It continues to span webs of terror across the world, arms terror groups within us and near us with lethal weapons, as well as other countries in the region. Our policy is clear: we will keep fighting the Iranian terror and its proxies, as well as the terror of Daesh. We will not allow Iran to arm itself with nuclear weapons, and we will not allow the foundations of Iranian forces and of Shi’ite militias appointed by Iran in Syria,” stated Netanyahu.