Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday that his government will stand firm against any international pressure to reignite the Israeli-Palestinian peace process by accepting the PA's unilateral conditions.
Speaking at a Likud Party Passover toast, Netanyahu said, "We will stand for our principles and fight those who try to dictate terms that would strip us of security and peace."
The prime minister praised his party's achievements in the area of security and said, "there are those who talk and those who act - they speak and we act ." In a defiant tone, he added, "this is our land and it always will be."
"Before our party came into power, the security policy was bad. The policy that I have introduced, however, is very clear, We are doing a lot. We are not just reacting to the situation but instead we are carrying out preventative actions".
Turning his attention to the recent tension on the Gaza border, the prime minister said that his government has put an end to Israel's abiding of attacks on its soil: "My policy is very clear – any attack will be met with a vigorous response."
Commenting on reports in the foreign media, alleging Israel was behind a recent airstrike in Sudan, which targeted terrorists, Netanyahu said:
"We do a lot. Not everything is known, only some. We focus not only on reaction, but also on prevention, thwarting and keeping our enemies from arming themselves. The result has been two years of almost unprecedented calm".
"We lost fewer lives in these two years. That's not by chance, it is a clear result of our policy."
"Lately, There has been an attempt to breach this calm and our rules of play. Our response was clear – the IDF struck, and struck again. I hope Hamas and the other terror groups understood, and if they didn’t – they will".
"The message is simple: We will not stand for fire on buses or on our children. We will not abide a situation where Israeli citizens are sleeping in shelters – anywhere."
Netanyahu further spoke of the unrest sweeping through the Middle East: "Everything is lurching, it's an earthquake… all I know is that there is one stable country in the region, one safe country, one free, thriving country and that is the State of Israel."
Netanyahu said that he greatly appreciates an invitation extended - less than an hour before - to speak in front of a joint session of the US Congress.
Netanyahu said that he will speak to the US Congress about the Iranian threat and the need for a "secure peace" between the Israeli and Palestinian peoples.
Netanyahu said that he will speak to the US Congress about the Iranian threat and the need for a "secure peace" between the Israeli and Palestinian peoples.