Prime Minister Netanyahu told the Cabinet Sunday that regional security threats are not “on hold” as he works to form the next government coalition.
“In the perspective of the almost 75 years that have passed since the Holocaust, what has not changed is the desire to annihilate the Jews,” Netanyahu noted at the start of the cabinet meeting marking International Holocaust Remembrance Day. "Holocaust-denial is being spread by one of
the world's major countries, not by a group or by individual countries
or by marginal elements, but by Iran which, today, from the UN or any
other platform, is the leader of Holocaust-denial while preparing for
what they deem to be another Holocaust – the destruction of the state of
the Jews. They are not halting their relentless and systematic race to
achieve a nuclear weapons capability in order to realize this intention.
We do not make light of these threats and we will prevent them. This is
our primary mission as a government and as a people," Netanyahu asserted.
“What has changed is the ability of the Jews to defend themselves. This ability finds expression in the state, the military and the security services – and in our willingness to act against those who come to destroy us," he added.
"This ability is the difference between what was then, and what there is today,” Netanyahu continued,
"nobody will defend the Jews if they are not ready to defend themselves; this is another lesson of the Holocaust. It is impossible to rely on separate and independent action to defend the Jews if the Jews will not defend themselves."
Speaking of the challenges Israel faces, "The entire region is raging," Netanyahu warned. "The Middle East is not waiting on the
results of the elections and it will not stop during the formation of
the government. There are many threats here, among the more difficult
that I have pointed out and others, and the reality is developing apace.
In the east, north and south, everything is in ferment and we must be
prepared."
“We must be prepared, strong and determined in the face of any possible development,” he said. “That is why I will strive to form a government as broad and stable as possible – to deal with all the significant security threats facing Israel," Netanyahu concluded.