(Haaretz). Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attended a Fourth of July celebration at the home of American ambassador to Israel James Cunningham on Wednesday, and said that the bond between Israel and the U.S. was still strong.
Amid tension with the long-time ally over West Bank settlement construction, the prime minister declared that the sentiments voiced by U.S. President Barack Obama, who said in Cairo last month that his country's bond with Israel was unbreakable, were true.
The prime minister also warned that the world order could break down if tyrannical regimes were to obtain weapons of mass destruction,However, freedom has usually triumphed over repressive regimes, the prime minister stressed.
"The greatest danger facing our world today is that this historical consistency of the triumph and spread of democracy could change if the world's worst regimes acquire the world's most dangerous weapons," he said.
The prime minister went on to stress that the state of Israel and its citizens deeply appreciate the US, noting that several of Jerusalem's streets are named after former US presidents.
The prime minister ended his speech with the traditional "God bless America."
US Ambassador to Israel James Cunningham also mentioned the strong bond to Israel, and said the US is committed to the security of Israel and to the security of Israel's citizens.Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman, Defense Minister Ehud Barak, Strategic Affairs Minister Moshe Ya'alon, Social Welfare Minister Yitzhak Herzog, and Opposition chairman and Kadima leader Tzipi Livni attended the reception.