Israeli PM Netanyahu delivers address to United Nations: ‘I came here to set the record straight’

Mr President ladies and gentlemen I didn't intend to come here this year my country is at War fighting for its life but after I heard the lies and Slanders leveled at my country by many of the speakers at this Podium I decided to come here and set the record straight I decided to come here to speak for my people to speak for my country to speak for the [Applause] truth and here here's the truth Israel seeks peace Israel yearns for peace Israel has made peace and will make peace [Music] again yet we Face Savage enemies

who seek our Annihilation and we must defend ourselves against these Savage murderers our enemies seek not only to dest destroy us they seek to destroy our common civilization and return all of us to a Dark Age of tyranny and Terror when I spoke here last year I said we faced the same Timeless choice that Moses put before the people of Israel thousands of years ago as we were about to enter the promised land Moses told us that our actions will determine whether we bequeath to Future Generations a blessing or a curse and that is the

choice we face today the curse of Iran's unremitting aggression or the blessing of a historic reconciliation between Arab and Jew in the days that followed that speech the blessing I spoke of came into sharper focus a normalization deal between between Saudi Arabia and Israel seemed closer than ever but then came the curse of October 7th thousands of Iranian backed Hamas terrorists from Gaza burst into Israel in pickup trucks on motorcycles and they committed unimaginable atrocities they savagely murdered 12200 people they raped and mutilated women they beheaded men they burned babies alive they burnt entire families

Alive babies children parents grandparents in scenes reminiscent of the Nazi Holocaust Hamas kidnapped 251 people from dozens of different countries dragging them into the dungeons of Gaza Israel has brought home 154 of these hostages including 117 who returned alive I want to assure you we will not rest until the remaining hostages are brought home too and some of their family members are here with us today I ask you to stand up with us with us is Ellie Stevie whoan Don was abducted from the Nova Music Festival that was his crime a music festival and these

murder its monsters took him Kobi smno whose son Jonathan was murdered and his corpse his corpse was taken into the dungeons into the territ tunels of Gaza a corpse held hostage Salim alatrash whose brother Muhammad a brave Arab Israeli soldier was murdered his body too was taken to Gaza and so was the body of eatman's daughter in bar who was brutally murdered at that same music festival with us is shaon sharabi whose brother Yosi was murdered and who prays for his older brother Ellie who is still held hostage in Gaza and Withers to is Hisar

liage from kibuts near O A kibuts that was wiped out by the terrorist thankfully we achieved the release of his mother y but his father were dead is still languishing in an underground terrorist hell of Hamas I again promise you we will return your loved ones home we will not spare that effort until this holy mission is [Applause] accomplished ladies and gentlemen the curse of October 7th began when Kamas and invaded Israel from Gaza but it didn't end there Israel was soon forced to defend itself on six more Warf fronts organized by Iran on October

8this balah attacked us from Lebanon since then they fired over 8,000 rockets at our towns and cities at our civilians at our children two weeks later the Iran backed houis in Yemen launched drones and missiles at Israel the first of 250 such attacks including one yesterday aimed at Tel Aviv Iran Shiite militias in Syria and Iraq have targeted Israel dozens of times over the past year as well fueled by Iran Palestinian terrorists in Judea and Samaria perpetrated scores of attacks there and throughout Israel and last April for the first time ever Iran directly attacked Israel

from its own territory firing 300 drones cruise missiles and ballistic missiles at us I have a message for the tyrants of Terran if you strike us we will strike you there is no place there is no place in Iran that long arm of Israel cannot reach and that's true of the entire Middle East far from being Lambs led to the slaughter Israel's soldiers have po back with Incredible courage and with heroic sacrifice and I have another message for this assembly and for the world outside this Hall we are winning [Applause] [Music] ladies and gentlemen as

Israel defends itself against Iran in the seven front War the line separating the blessing and the curse could not be more clear this is the map I presented here last year it's a map of a blessing it shows Israel Israel and its Arab Partners forming a land bridge connecting as IIA and Europe between the Indian Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea across this bridge we will lay Rail lines energy pipelines fiber optic cables and this will serve the betterment of two billion people now look at this second map it's a map look at the second map

it's a map of a curse it's a map of an arc of Terror that Iran has created and imposed from the Indian Ocean to the Mediterranean Iran's malignant Arc has shut down International waterways it cuts off Trade It destroys Millions destroys nations from within and inflicts misery on Millions on the one hand on the one hand a bright blessing of a future of Hope on the other hand a dark future of Despair and if you think this dark map is only a curse for Israel if you think that then you should think again because Iran's

aggression if it's not checked will endanger every single country in the Middle East and many many countries in the rest of the world because Iran seeks to impose its radicalism well beyond the Middle East that's why it funds Terror networks on five continents that's why it builds ballistic missiles for nuclear warheads to threaten the entire world for too long the world has appeased Iran it turns a blind eye to its internal repression it turns a blind eye to its external aggression well that appeasements must end and that appeasement must end now nations of the world

should support the brave people of Iran who want to rid themselves of this evil regime responsible governments should not only support Israel enrolling back Iran's aggression they should join Israel they should join Israel in stopping Iran's nuclear weapons [Applause] program in this body in the security Council we're going to have a deliberation in a few months and I call on the security Council to snap back un Security Council sanctions against Iran because we must all do everything in our power to ensure that Iran never gets nuclear [Music] weapons for decades I've been warning the world

against Iran's nuclear program our actions delayed this program by perhaps a decade but we haven't stopped it we've delayed it but we haven't stopped it Iran now seeks to weaponize its nuclear program for the sake of the peace and security of all your countries for the sake of the peace and security of the entire world we must not let that happen and I assure you Israel will do everything in its power to make sure it doesn't [Applause] happen so ladies and gentlemen the question before us is simple which of these two maps that I showed

you will shape our future will it be the blessings of peace and prosperity for Israel our Arab partners and the rest of the world or will it be the curse in which Iran and its Pro IES spread Carnage and Chaos everywhere Israel has already made its Choice we've decided to advance the blessing we're building a partnership for peace with our Arab neighbors while fighting the forces of Terror that threatened that peace for nearly a year the brave men and women of the IDF have been systematically crushing hamas's Terror Army that once ruled Gaza on October

7th the day of that Invasion into Israel that Terror Army numbered nearly 4,000 40,000 terrorists it was armed with more than 15,000 Rockets it had 350 Mi of Terr tunnels an underground network bigger than the New York Subway system which they used to wreak havoc above and below ground a year later the IDF has killed or captured more than half of these terrorists destroyed over 90% of their rocket Arsenal and eliminated the key segments of their Terror tunnel Network in major military operations in major military operations we destroyed nearly half of hamas's sorry nearly all

of hamas's Terror battalions 23 out of 24 battalions now to complete our Victory we are focused on mopping up hamas's remaining fighting capabilities we are taking out senior terrorist commanders and destroying remaining terrorist infrastructure but all the while all the while and I'll say this one more time we remain focused on our sacred Mission bringing our hostages home and we will not stop until that mission is complete Now ladies and Gentlemen even with hamas's greatly diminished military capability the terrorists still exercise some governing power in Gaza by stealing the food that we enable a add

aent sorry that we enable Aid agencies to bring into Gaza Kamas steals the food and then they hike the prices they feed their bellies and then they fill their coffers with money that they extort from their own people they sell the stolen food at EXT exorbitant prices and that's how they stay in power well this too has to end and we're working to bring it to an end and the reason is simple because if Kamas stays in power it will regroup rearm and attack Israel again and again and again as it is vowed to do

so Hamas has got to go just imagine for those who say well Hamas has to stay it has to be part of a post-war Gaza imagine in a postwar situation in World War II imagine allowing the defeated Nazis in 1945 to rebuild Germany it's inconceivable it's ridiculous it didn't happen then it's not going to happen now [Applause] this is why Israel will reject any rule for Hamas in a post-war Gaza we don't seek to resettle Gaza what we seek is a demilitarized and deradicalized Gaza only then only then can we ensure that this round of

fighting will be the last round of fighting we are ready to work with regional and other partners to support a local civilian Administration in committed to Peaceful coexistence as for the hostages I have a message for the Kamas captors let them go let them go all of them those alive today must be returned alive and the remains of Those whom you brutally killed must be returned to their families those families here with us today and others in Israel deserve to have a resting place for their love loved ones a place where they can grieve and

remember them this war ladies and gentlemen this war can come to an end now all that has to happen is for Hamas to surrender lay down its arms and release all the hostages but if they don't but if they don't we will fight until we achieve this Victory total Victory there is no substitute for [Applause] it Israel must also defeat hasbalah in Lebanon healah is the quintessential Terror organization in the world today it has uh tentacles that Span in all continents it has murdered more Americans and more more Frenchmen than any group except Bin Laden

it's murdered the citizens of many countries represented in this room and it has attacked Israel viciously over the last 20 years in the last year completely unprovoked a day after Hamas Massacre on October 7th hasbalah began attacks against Israel which forced more than 60,000 Israelis on our northern border to leave their homes becoming refugees in their own land his balah turned vibrant towns in the North of Israel into ghost towns so I want you to think about this in equivalent American terms just imagine if terrorists turned El Paso and San Diego into ghost towns then

ask yourself how long would the American government tolerate that a day a week a month I doubt they tolerated even for a single day yet Israel has been tolerating this intolerable situation for nearly a year well I've come here today to say enough is enough we won't rest until our citizens can return safely to their homes we will not accept a terror Army perched on our northern border able to perpetrate another October 7th style Massacre for 18 years healah brazenly refused to implement un Security Council resolution 1701 which requires it to move its forces away

from our borders instead kisala moved right up to our border they secretly dug Terror tunnels to infiltrate our communities and indiscriminately fired thousands of rockets into our towns and Villages they fire these rockets and missiles not from military sides not from that they do that too but they fire those rockets and missiles after they place them in schools in hospitals in apartment buildings and in the private homes of the citizens of Lebanon they endanger their own people they put a missile in every kitchen a rocket in every garage I said to the people of Lebanon

this week get out of the death trap that kbal has put you in don't let noala drag Lebanon into the abyss we're not at war with you we're at war with kbal which has hijacked your country and threatens to destroy ours as long asalah chooses the path of War Israel has no choice and Israel has every right to remove this threat and return our citizens to their hom safely and that's exactly what we're doing just this week the IDF destroyed large percentages of hisis bala's rockets which had built with Iran's funding for three decades we

took out senior military commanders who not only shed Israeli blood but American and French blood as well and then we took out their Replacements and then The Replacements of their their Replacements and we'll continue degrading his balah until all our objectives are made ladies and gentlemen we're committed to removing the curse of terrorism that threatens all civilized societies but to truly realize the blessing of a new Middle East we must continue the path we paved with the Abraham Accords four years ago above all this means achieving a historic peace agreement between Israel and Saudi Arabia

and having seen the blessings that we've already brought with the Abraham Accords the millions of Israelis who've already flown back and forth across the Arabian Peninsula over the Skies of Saudi Arabia to the gulf countries the trade the tourism the joint ventures the peace the peace I say to you what blessing such a peace with Saudi Arabia would bring it would be a boon to the security and economy of our two countries it would boost trade and tourism across the region it would help transform the Middle East into a global Jugger do our two countries

could cooperate on Energy Water agriculture artificial intelligence and many many other fields such a piece I'm sure would be a true pivot of History it would usher in a historic reconciliation between the Arab world and Israel between Islam and Judaism between Mecca and Jerusalem while Israel is committed to achieving such a peace Iran and its Terror proxies are committed to scuttling it that's why one of the best ways to foil Iran's nefarious designs is to achieve the peace such a peace would be the foundation for an even broader abrahamic Alliance and that Alliance would include

the United States Israel kurage Arab peace Partners Saudi Arabia and others who choose the blessing of Peace it Advance Security and prosperity across the Middle East and bring enormous benefits to to the rest of the world with American support and Leadership I believe this Vision can materialize and much sooner than people think and as the prime minister of Israel I will do everything in my power to make it happen this is an opportunity that we and the world should not let go by ladies and gentlemen isra Isel has made its choice we seek to move

forward to a bright age of prosperity and peace Iran and its proxies have also made their choice they want to move back to a Dark Age of Terror and War and now I have a question and I pose that question to you what choice will you make will your nation stand with Israel will you stand with democracy and peace or will you stand with Iran a brutal dictatorship that subjugates its own people exports terrorism across the globe in this battle between good and evil there must be no equivocation when you stand with Israel you stand

for your own values and your own interests yes we're defending ourselves but we're also defending you against a common enemy that through violence and Terror seeks to dest destroy our way of life so there should be no confusion about this but unfortunately there is a lot of it in many countries and in this very Hall as I've just heard good is portrayed as evil and evil is portrayed as good we see this moral confusion when Israel is falsely accused of genocide when we defend ourselves against enemies who try to commit genocide against us we see

this too two when Israel is absurdly Accused by the ICC prosecutor of deliberately starving Palestinians in Gaza what an absurdity we help bring in 700,000 tons of food into Gaza that's more than 3,000 calories a day for every man woman and child in Gaza we see this moral confusion when Israel is falely accused of deliberately targeting civilians we don't want to see a single person a single innocent person died that's always a tragedy and that's why we do so much to minimize civilian casualties even as our enemies use civilians as human Shields and no Army

has done what Israel is doing to minimize civilian casualties we drw Flyers we send text messages we make phone calls by the millions to ensure that Palestinian civilians get out of Harm's Way We spare no effort in this Noble Pursuit we see yet another profound moral confusion when self self-described progressives March against the Democracy of Israel don't they realize they support the Iranian backed goons in in tan and in Gaza the goons who G down protesters murder women for not covering their hair and hang gays in public squares some progressives according to the US Director

of National Intelligence Iran's funds and fuels many of the protesters against Israel who knows maybe maybe some of the protesters or even many of the protesters outside this building Now ladies and gentlemen King Solomon who reigned in our Eternal Capital Jerusalem 3,000 years ago proclaimed he proclaimed something that is familiar to all of you he said there is nothing new Under the Sun well in an age of uh space travel quantum physics and artificial intelligence some would argue that's a debatable statement but one thing is undeniable there is definitely nothing new at the United Nations

take it for me I SP first spoke from this Podium as Israel's ambassador to the UN in 1984 that's exactly 40 years ago and in my maiden speech here I think it's the same Podium by the way in my maiden speech here I spoke against a proposal to expel Israel from this body four decades later I find myself defending Israel against that same Preposterous proposal and who's leading the charge this time not Hamas but abas Palestinian Authority president Mahmud Abbas this is the man who claims he wants peace with Israel yet he still refuses to

condemn the horrific Massacre of October 7th he's still paying hundreds of millions to terrorists who murder Israelis and Americans it's called pay for slaying the more you murder the more you get paid and he still wages unremitting diplomatic Warfare against Israel's right to exist and against Israel's right to defend itself and by the way they amount to the same thing because if you can't defend yourself you can't exist not in our neighborhood certainly and maybe not in yours standing in this Podium 40 years ago I told the sponsors of that outrageous resolution to expel Israel

gentlemen check your fanaticism at the door today I tell president AB and all of you who would shamefully support that resolution check your fanaticism at the door the singling out of the one and only Jewish State continues to be a moral stain on the United Nations it has made this once respected institution contempt in the eyes of decent people everywhere but for the Palestinians this un House of darkness is home court they know that in this swamp of anti-Semitic bile there's an automatic majority willing to do demonize the Jewish State on anything in this anti-israel

Flat Earth Society any false charge any outlandish allegation can muster a majority in the last decade there have been more resolutions passed against Israel in this Hall at the UN General Assembly than against the entire world combined actually more than twice as many since 2014 this body condemned Israel 174 times it condemned all the other countries in the world 73 times that's more than 100 extra condemnations for the Jewish State what hypocrisy what a double standard what a joke so the un's hostility [Applause] so all the speeches you heard today all the hostility directed at

Israel this year it's not about Gaza it's about Israel it's always been about Israel about Israel's very existence and I say to you until Israel until the Jewish state is treated like other nations until this anti-semitic swamp is drained the UN will be viewed by fair-minded people everywhere as nothing more than a contemptuous farce now given the anti-Semitism at the UN it should surprise no one that the prosecutor at the IC one of the un's Affiliated organs is considering issuing arrest warrants against me and Israel's defense min Minister the democratically elected leader leaders of the

democratic state of Israel the IC prosecutors rushed to judgment his refusal to treat Israel with its independent courts the way other democracies are treated is hard to explain by anything other than pure anti-Semitism ladies and gentlemen the real war criminals are not in Israel they're in Iran they're in Gaza in Syria in Lebanon in Yemen those of you who stand with these war criminals those of you who stand with evil against good with a curse against the blessing those of you who do so should be ashamed of yourselves but I have a message for you

Israel will win this battle we'll win this battle because we don't have a choice after Generations after Generations in which our people were slaughtered remorselessly butchered and no one raised a finger in our defense we now have a state we now have a brave Army an army of incomparable courage and we are defending ourselves as the book of Samuel says in the Bible The Eternity of Israel will not [Applause] falter in the Jewish people's Epic Journey from Antiquity in our Odyssey through the Tempest and upheavals of modern times that ancient promise has always been kept

and it will hold true for all time to borrow a great poet's phrase Israel will not go gently into that good night we will never we will never need to rage against the dying of the light because the torture of Israel will forever shine [Applause] bright to the people of Israel and to the soldiers of Israel I say be strong and of good Courage the people of Israel live now tomorrow forever thank you