Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu delivered remarks Sunday at a special government session marking Yom Yerushalayim, held at the Knesset Museum in Froumine House, where he addressed Israel’s security challenges on multiple fronts, praised the IDF’s ongoing operations, and spoke about the country’s efforts against emerging drone threats.
At the beginning of his remarks, Netanyahu reflected on the historic significance of the original Knesset building and its restoration. “This is the second time I am visiting here since the restoration, the original home of the Knesset in Froumine House. I believe that anyone who comes here feels the uniqueness of this place, which essentially served as the home for the revival of our people’s sovereignty in our land after thousands of years. It always makes the heart stir. I also remember as a Jerusalem boy, being right across the street and looking at this building; back then, it was closed to boys like me, but today it is open to all of the people of Israel. I invite all of you, the citizens of Israel, to come here and enjoy this heritage. A truly wonderful, highly original, highly authentic, and very faithful restoration job has been done here, and the atmosphere provides a great deal of inspiration.”
Netanyahu also paused to express condolences to the family of Captain Maoz Israel Recanati, the Golani officer killed during fighting in Lebanon. “At the beginning of my remarks, I wish to send condolences to the family of the late Captain Maoz Israel Recanati. Maoz left everything behind, including his fiancée whom he was set to marry in about a month, led his soldiers in battle in Lebanon, and fell. May G-d avenge him. May his memory be a blessing.”
Turning to the fighting in Lebanon and the growing drone threat facing Israel, Netanyahu said the military continues to operate aggressively while adapting to evolving dangers. “I want to say a few things about the campaign in Lebanon. We are doing a lot there; holding territory, clearing territory, protecting Israel’s communities, but also fighting an enemy that is trying to outsmart us.”
The prime minister recalled warning years ago about the strategic danger posed by drones and said Israel has spent years developing responses to the threat. “Six years ago, during a Cabinet meeting, I warned against the threat of drones. At the time, I saw it primarily as a serious threat, as a tool for targeted eliminations of public figures, but since then, it has obviously evolved. From the start of the war, and of course having observed the war in Ukraine, I thought this could also serve as a tool on our battlefield. At my request, the IDF installed canopies on the tanks. That was one measure. The IDF and the Ministry of Defense have done a great deal over the years, this needs to be understood, and they have thwarted many hundreds, if not thousands, including UAVs, thousands of attempted drone and UAV strikes against our forces. And they are succeeding. Every time there is a new threat, they succeed in neutralizing it,” he said.
Netanyahu went on to describe the creation of a specialized task force focused on combating FPV drones and said the initiative would operate without budget restrictions. “Today, we are facing the challenge of neutralizing FPV (Fiber-Optic/First-Person View) drones. This is a specific type of threat. I convened a special team together with the Minister of Defense, personnel from the Ministry of Defense, and individuals from outside the ministry, not just from the defense industries, but also from the civilian sector, the best minds in Israel, and in my opinion, the best minds in the world. I held three meetings in two weeks, but in the meeting we held a few days ago, I told them something that surprised them a bit: ‘You have no budgetary constraint.’ Whatever it costs, it costs. You also have no limits, as far as I know, to your creativity and imagination, because you are the best in the world. Therefore, my directive to the team is to find a solution for this, and for the next threat that will come.”
He expressed confidence that Israel would ultimately lead the world in solving the drone challenge. “I have no doubt that Israel will be the first country, just as we have done in other fields, to deliver a complete solution to this problem as well. This requires patience and sometimes gritting our teeth, but both of these, patience, determination, and the ability to stand up to the challenge, we have in abundance. We will achieve this too.”
Addressing the fighting in Gaza, Netanyahu announced the elimination of senior Hamas leader Iz al-Din al-Haddad and reiterated Israel’s objectives in the war. “Over the weekend, we eliminated the master murderer Iz al-Din al-Haddad. He was essentially number one in Hamas’s military wing. He has been eliminated. This despicable terrorist was responsible for the murder, injury, and kidnapping of thousands of Israeli citizens and IDF soldiers. He used hostages as human shields, and he is no longer with us. It is important to say that I promised two things, and the Government, along with me: I promised that we would return all of our hostages, down to the very last one. Down to the hero of Israel, the late Ran Gvili. And we returned them. There were doubts, but we had no doubts. We returned them.”
Netanyahu added that Israel is nearing completion of another key war objective. “I promised a second thing, that every single architect of the massacre and the hostage-taking would be eliminated down to the last one, and we are very close to completing this mission as well. In Gaza now, we are no longer holding 50%, but already 60%. We have Hamas in our grip. We know exactly what our mission is, and our mission is one: To ensure that Gaza will never again pose a threat to Israel, and we are carrying out this mission too with the help of our heroic soldiers. They truly are heroes. In Lebanon, in Gaza, and also in the skies of Tehran. Our fighters, our pilots, our female combatants, and our female pilots, heroes and heroines.”
Concluding his remarks, Netanyahu addressed the Iranian front and revealed plans for another conversation with President Trump. “Our eyes are also wide open regarding Iran. I will speak today, as I do every few days, with our friend President Trump. I will certainly hear his impressions from his trip to China, and perhaps other matters. There are certainly many possibilities; we are prepared for any scenario.”
{Matzav.com}