Prime Minister MK Benjamin Netanyahu (Likud) addressed the Knesset Plenum during the opening sitting of the fourth session of the Twenty-Fifth Knesset, saying, “president herzog, I have already said that [Justice] Isaac Amit is the president of the Supreme Court. That is a fact. But I have also said—I am the Prime Minister of Israel, and these are the ministers of Israel’s Government. That is a fact. And this is the Speaker of Israel’s Knesset, and these are the members of Israel’s Knesset—and that too is a fact. These facts should be acknowledged by all sides, not just by one side.
“Families of the deceased hostages—we are committed to bringing them all back to Israel, to the very last one. These are not empty words. This difficult war has been ongoing from one generation to the next. In the past two years, in a direct continuation of the War of Independence, this was a war on seven fronts, but above all it was a War of Revival.
“The day of the terrible massacre was a moment of trial, the likes of which have been rare in the history of our country. We started from the most terrible disaster that we experienced since the Holocaust. We rose on our feet and fought back. We acted to remove from us the existential threat of Iran and its proxies. We are rebuilding and empowering the Gaza perimeter region as the Tkuma region. At the end of 24 months of continuous warfare, we reached a peak. The mission has not been completed. Deceased hostages remain in Gaza. We are working constantly to complete this sacred mission.
“Again and again we hear this claim, but it is so untrue. At no stage was Hamas willing for the plan that we reached now—returning all the hostages at once, control by the IDF over a majority of the territory of Gaza and an explicit decision, with a broad international consensus, including of Arab states, to demilitarize the Gaza Strip and disarm Hamas. We are determined to achieve all the objectives of the war.
“For two years, we applied immense military pressure, by means of which we freed nearly 200 hostages. We eliminated tens of thousands of terrorists, we took control of all the crossings into the Gaza Strip and crushed the Iranian axis on which Hamas relies. Hamas insisted time after time to not release all the hostages and not disarm.
“Had I listened to many people who are in this hall and also outside it—you who called upon me to yield and stop the war—if this had happened, and I had agreed to withdraw the IDF until the last meter, the war would have ended in an overwhelming victory for Hamas and the Iranian axis. Sinwar, Deif and Nasrallah would have remained alive and would have come out in peak strength. When it’s the truth, it’s painful. And here is the truth—had I submitted to your dictates, Hamas would still be standing. Hezbollah would be threatening our cities. The Radwan Force would be a few meters away from invading the Galilee. The murderous Assad regime would still be standing.
“Above all—Iran would have continued to manufacture tens of thousands of missiles at an accelerated rate, and within a few months it would have developed atom bombs to destroy us. The entire country was in danger of destruction; millions of citizens of Israel stood before danger of extinction. We faced an existential threat, literally speaking. We took action to make this vanish, to push this away. To remove the threat from us.
“The Government under my leadership did not accept any of Hamas’s demands. We lifted the existential threat from our heads, and inflicted blows on the Iranian axis. We boosted Israel’s power of deterrence, we brought back our living hostages, and we will bring back the deceased hostages who still remain there. We have remained within the Gaza Strip, gripping Hamas from all sides. That is how we are seen in the entire world, including the Arab world.
“Hamas has been defeated. Thanks to the determined and courageous decisions we made, we have established our standing as a power. The campaign is not over. Hamas blatantly violated the cease-fire yesterday. Hamas immediately felt the might of our arm, we attacked it with 153 tons of bombs. We attacked dozens of targets across the Gaza Strip and eliminated many terrorists.
“A cease-fire is not a license for Hamas to threaten us. Aggression against us will have a very heavy price. At the end of the process, which we agreed upon with President Trump, Hamas’s military and governmental power will be eliminated. In the violent and wild Middle East, we are vigilant, and are also taking action to thwart the threats. One of our hands holds weapons to overcome those who wish us ill. Our other hand is extended for peace. Alongside the great challenges, there are great opportunities to expand the circle of peace in our region and beyond it. Peace is done with the strong, and today everyone knows that the State of Israel is a very strong country, stronger than ever.
“Thanks to our power, I believe that we will bring more peace agreements with countries in the region. To successfully fulfill all our objectives, we must preserve our unity with great care. Unity will never be absolute. But at the moment of truth and on the day of trial, we will all stand together like a fortified wall. This is how we have acted, and this is how we should continue to act. This is the time to lower the flames. In a democracy, it is also possible to reach compromises. The differences can and should be discussed, but this should be done in a substantive manner, and certainly not with violence or with death threats against elected officials, or against a Prime Minister and his family members. We all know what the boundaries of accepted discourse are.
“We are soon going to pass the state budget for 2026. We will continue to strengthen Israel’s economy. The achievements of Israel’s economy during the war are a source of astonishment around the world. The inflation is dropping, the shekel is strong, unemployment is at a low and the stock market is at an all-time peak. And that is during wartime. In the course of the war, we coped with an arms embargo that restricted us and delayed the progress of the war. So as not to be dependent on the supply of arms from abroad, we are advancing our armament independence.
“Along with this, we are now establishing a national artificial intelligence directorate. Today, Israel is the second cyber-power in the world, after the United States. Just as we established our standing as a world force in cyber [security], we seek to become a world force in artificial intelligence, and this will have an immense impact on our security and economy. As for the relations with the United States—they have never been closer than now. Everyone understands the importance of this closeness. We were all moved by the historic address of the greatest friend we have ever had in the White House.
“In the current session, we will bring before the Knesset for approval a draft bill that will lead to the enlistment of ten thousand yeshiva students within two years. This is a genuine revolution, something that has not happened since the state’s inception. There are many others of draft age who are not Haredim—and they too should enlist. We have the example of the Hashmonaim Brigade—these bold combatants enlisted in the IDF as Haredim and will be discharged as Haredim, and we will add more tracks that will make this possible.
“Citizens of Israel, these are historic times. At these times, which are changing the fate of the nation and paving a path for us that we did not dream of—at these times, we must remember who we are fighting against and what we are fighting for. I have heard this from our combatants, from the bereaved families, from our injured soldiers in the rehabilitation departments. Our response to all our contemptible enemies—we are Jews, we are Israelis, we are strong, and with God’s help, we are winning,” said Prime Minister MK Netanyahu.
