Netanyahu Speaks to the World

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s oration at the United Nations will be no less remembered for having been delivered to a mostly empty room. The sparse attendance was a contrivance of the Palestinian Arabs, who encouraged a walk out. The premier, though, had a hearty cheering section of his own among those states that stayed and supporters thronging the balconies. Those who listened were treated to a download of moral clarity.The most forceful sections of Mr. Netanyahu’s addresses were directed to audiences far from the UN’s headquarters at Turtle Bay. He disclosed that loudspeakers have been erected at Gaza to carry his words to the Israeli hostages. In Hebrew and then English he declared that “This is Prime Minister Netanyahu speaking to you live from the United Nations. We have not forgotten you, not even for a second. The people of Israel are with you. We will not falter.”Another audience were the terrorists of Hamas. Mr. Netanyahu declared that “thanks to special efforts by Israeli intelligence, my words are now also being … streamed live to the cell phones of Gazans. So to the remaining Hamas leaders and to the jailers of our hostages, I now say, lay down your arms. Let my people go.” If this Mosaic warning was heeded, Mr. Netanyahu said, the hostages’ jailers would live. If not, he vowed that they would perish.Some of Mr. Netanyahu’s strongest words were reserved for the European countries who this week rushed to recognize a state for the Palestinian Arabs, which he reckoned was a reward for Hamas’s barbarism. Israel’s leader reasoned that “Giving the Palestinians a state one mile from Jerusalem after October 7 is like giving Al Qaeda a state one mile from New York City after September 11. This is sheer madness. It’s insane, and we won’t do it.”“Israel will not allow you to shove a terror state down our throats” Mr. Netanyahu vowed from a podium at which the Jewish state is condemned more than all other nations of the world combined. He explained that “there’s a familiar saying: when the going gets tough, the tough get going. Well, for many countries here, when the going got tough, you caved … You can’t appease your way out of Jihad. You won’t escape the Islamist storm by sacrificing Israel.”Mr. Netanyahu offered a précis of the achievements of the Israel Defense Forces since he last addressed the General Assembly. “Half the Houthi leadership in Yemen — gone. Yahya Sinwar in Gaza — gone. Hassan Nasrallah in Lebanon — gone. The Assad regime in Syria — gone … and for Iran’s top military commanders and its top nuclear scientists … well, they’re gone too.” He administered a pop quiz to illustrate that “deep down Israel is fighting your fight.”As our Benny Avni reports, this speech was a prelude to private meetings with President Trump that are scheduled on Monday. The president on Friday intimated that a deal to end the war and redeem the hostages could be imminent. Last year, Mr. Netanyahu, who has long yearned for the “blessing” of a new Middle East, warned of the “curse” of one dominated by Iran. The year since has only sharpened that Biblical choice.Mr. Netanyahu, without denying the rambunctiousness of Israel’s democracy, thundered that in respect of security he spoke “not only in my name or the name of my government but on behalf of all the people of Israel.” He cited a vote last year on whether to support the creation of a Palestinian state. Ninety nine out of the Knesset’s 120 members were opposed. Quoth Mr. Netanyahu: “Western leaders may have buckled under pressure … Israel won’t.”

Netanyahu Speaks to the World

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