On Monday, Leader of the Opposition MK Yair Lapid (Yesh Atid) spoke to the knesset Plenum in a special sitting in honor of us president Donald Trump. Addressing president trump, MK Lapid said, “Mr. President, you have saved the lives of our hostages. But you saved so much more. You have saved the souls of the bereaved, whose loved ones now will be brought home for burial. You have saved thousands of soldiers who will now not fall in battle. And you have saved millions from the horrors of war. You have saved more than one life and each life is an entire world.
“When you were elected, you declared that you would be the President of Peace. You have kept your word. The fact that you were not awarded the Nobel Peace Prize is a grave mistake by the committee. But they will have no choice, Mr. President. They will have to award it to you next year. Peace will not come by waiting. It will come by building, by reaching out, and by daring once again to believe.
“You, Mr. President, have done the unimaginable. We will be eternally grateful. But we also need to take responsibility. The destiny of Israel will always be written by the people of Israel. We must now prove ourselves worthy of what has been achieved.
“Hamas, Iran, and the Houthis, they all read the wrong intelligence reports. The real intelligence report on Israel’s intentions is found in the book of Genesis. “And I will give you and your descendants after you, the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession” [Genesis 17:8]. We call upon the nations of the Islamic world, and all our neighbors—Saudi Arabia, Syria, others. We are here to stay. We can do great things together. Come and talk to us.
“Mr. President, you are the one who can make it happen as you did with the historic Abraham Accords. Then too, no one believed it was possible. Then too, you imposed your vision on everyone. While others spoke of difficulties, you created opportunity. You can be the one to bring the next wave of peace. The people of Israel support this. They want this. We are ready.
“From here I say to all those who demonstrated against Israel this past two years on the streets of London and Rome in Paris and in Columbia University—I do not represent the Government, as you know, I am the Leader of the Opposition, and I tell you that you were deceived. Propaganda experts funded by terror money manipulated you. Now that the war has stopped, you have time and a chance to go and learn the facts.
“This war is over. We will always need to stay vigilant to guard against those who seek our destruction. But the State of Israel is about to reinvent itself. The challenges ahead demand not only strength but a new vision. It’s time to take a new path, to be a nation that is advanced and thriving and peace-seeking. We have waited for this moment, for the end of the war, for the return of the hostages, for the chance to re-channel our grief and loss into the energy needed to rebuild our nation.
“Thanks to you, Mr. President. Thanks to our soldiers, our lions. Thanks to the millions of great Israeli patriots who filled the streets and the square and never, not for one moment, gave up on the hostages. Thanks to all of them, the strength within us can now rise, succeed, and build for our future and for our children,” said Leader of the Opposition MK Lapid.
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