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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke at length in front of an audience and live cameras on February 15, saying: “I will not hide from you that I express my skepticism of any deal with Iran because Iran is reliable on one thing – they lie and they cheat.”
Netanyahu said: “If a deal is to be reached, it should have several components – components that we believe are important not only for the security of Israel, but for the security of the world: the United States, the region, the world.
“The first is that all enriched material has to leave Iran. The second is that there shall be no enrichment capability – not just stopping the enrichment process, but dismantling the equipment and the infrastructure that allow enticement in the first place,” Netanyahu noted.
Netanyahu continued: “The third is to address the question of ballistic missiles – there’s an MTCR limitation of 300 kilometres, and Iran is supposed to adhere to it – of course, it doesn’t, as the Rising Lion Operation itself demonstrates, as everybody knows.
“And the fourth is to dismantle the axis of terror that Iran has built – it’s been smashed, but it’s still there; it’s trying to recover, as Iran itself is trying to do.”
Speaking about the current talks, Netanyahu said: “President Trump is determined to exhaust all the possibilities of achieving a deal, which he believes can be achieved now because of the circumstances that have been created – the force projection – and the fact that, as he says, Iran must surely understand that they missed out last time, and he thinks there’s a serious probability they won’t miss out this time.”
Netanyahu then focussed on Gaza: “Gaza will not pose a threat ever again to the State of Israel,” the PM promised: “There are practically no heavy weapons in Gaza, no artillery, no tanks, there’s nothing.
“The heavy weapon, the one that does the most damage, is called an AK-47. Okay? That’s it. That’s how they execute people. That’s how they shoot our people. That’s what they use – assault rifles,” claimed Netanyahu.
Netanyahu claimed that is what was used in the massacre of October 7th: “That’s what they used, that’s what they – they did the worst massacre of the Jewish people since the Holocaust with AK-47s, 60,000 of them, they have to go outside, adding that there are still tunnels in Gaza: “We dismantled about 150km of 500km of tunnels – we have to complete the job.”
Recently, Israel was visited by the Chancellor of Germany, where talks consisted around Israel’s defence industry, which allegedly Germany wish to invest a very large amount of money, while Narenda Modi from India is due to visit, as Netanyahu noted a “tremendous alliance between Israel and India, and we are going to discuss all sorts of cooperation.”
Netanyahu then turned to cyber security, noting that: “About 10 years ago, I said Israel would be among the top three cyber powers in the world – I was wrong – well, I was right – but it’s number two.
“Israel – tiny Israel, with 10 million people – receives more foreign investment in cyber tech than any other country in the world, except for the United States,” noted Netanyahu: “That’s what we did in 10 years. Guess what? We’re going to do exactly the same thing in AI and we’re going to do the same in Quantum.”
Netanyahu also said that Israel plan to become less reliant on the US Military: “We can afford to phase out the financial component of the military aid that we’re receiving – I propose a 10-year drawdown to zero.
“In the three years that remain in the present memorandum of understanding, and over another seven years, we will draw it down to zero – Israel will support itself, just as we fight for ourselves – our goal is to build an independent arms industry in Israel,” Netanyahu said.
Netanyahu then wanted to talk about the history of Israel and the Jews: “We were blamed in antiquity, 500 years before the birth of Christ,” he said, continuing: “People don’t know about the Hellenistic antisemitism that was here in the diaspora – and then what happened in the Middle ages, you are familiar with – and it happened in modern times.
“These attacks on the Jews are always preceded by vilification – horrible vilifications that even so-called civilised and educated people adhere to – the Jews poison the wells, the Jews spread vermin, the jews slaughter Christian children to use their blood for baking matzahs – and this goes into modern times, because the Nazi’s said the same thing.
“All these vituperations, all these slanders were always eventually accompanied by either exile or programs of mass murder – that’s what happened to the Jews, one country after another,” Netanyahu said.
Netanyahu continued: “When you envy someone and you can attack them, then you do – and that is essentially the story of the Jews – it’s a simplification of antisemitism, but it tells you a great deal about what underpinned it.”
Encouraging his audience to retaliate, Netanyahu said: “I say to you in front of these vilifications, do not cower, do not bend, and do not bow your head – fight back, because people respect those who respect themselves.
“The minorities that fought back, whether it’s the blacks or the gays or women, fought back – and what we have to do as Jews, both here in Israel and in various Jewish communities around the world, beginning with the United States, is to fight back – silence will not help – fight back!”
Netanyahu concluded: “We also have to fight on the information or the disinformation level as well – I guarantee you that if we do so, the Jewish future, as you see in this remarkable state, the Jewish state, the state of our people, will have a remarkable future.”
