Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared, during a state ceremony last night that kicked off celebrations marking fifty years since the unification of Jerusalem following the 1967 Middle East war, that the Jewish state did not conquer the eastern part of Jerusalem – which Netanyahu defined as the heart of Israel’s capital – but rather liberated the ancient city. Netanyahu asserted that “Jerusalem has always been the national capital of the Jewish people alone,” rejecting claims of affinity by any other nation, including that of the Palestinians.
“Jerusalem has always been the national capital of the Jewish people alone, and not of any other nation. We do not need to make excuses for our presence in Jerusalem, we do not owe any apologies for this. We are here due to a privilege, there is no greater privilege, and this privilege only grows stronger from our country being the sole, true, democratic nation in the Middle East,” said the Israeli leader.
Prime Minister Netanyahu further declared that the state of Israel will continue building, with pride and exaltation, the city of Jerusalem, while emphasizing that the city “will stay united forever.”
“We will revive the stones from the piles of ashes and dust we have built a temple, from those burnt stones (Prophet) Nehemiah built a wall. from the longing and aspirations, we have weaved the rebirth of Zion, even during the harshest of times we have promised ourselves we will return home, and indeed we stand here today with pride and exaltation in Jerusalem which is the joy of our lives, the glory of our people, our eternal capital, united forever,” further said Netanyahu.
The ceremony was also attended by Israel’s President Reuven Rivlin, and the new US Ambassador to Israel, David Friedman, who is a staunch advocate of moving the US Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.