Netanyahu: "The eternal people are not afraid of a long journey. With God's help, we will succeed""

July 20, 2014   

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Moshe (Bogi) Ya'alon held a special press conference this evening, in which they issued statements about the fall of 13 Golani soldiers and the continuation of ground activity in Gaza.

Netanyahu began his remarks by referring to the soldiers who fell last night, saying:

""The heart of the entire nation is with the families of the fallen, we grieve your pain. We bow our heads before our sons who fell so that we can continue to live here in our country. I would like to express on behalf of the Government of Israel and on behalf of the entire people of Israel the deep pain we feel. We send our condolences to the families. There is no more just war than the one in which your sons - our sons - fell heroically. We will complete the mission they began. We will restore peace to the south, the center and all parts of the country.

I would like to send a wish for a complete recovery to all the wounded soldiers. IDF soldiers, I want to tell you, the citizens of Israel stand behind you and pray for your well-being.

Each of us knows at least one person who is participating in the campaign. And this unity and commitment is unique to our people, and it is the secret of our strength. We must stand united and strong, especially in such difficult times. To the dear families: I am aware of your concern. We all share it. We are doing everything to protect the lives of our citizens and also the lives of our soldiers.

We are at war at home. Our forces are on the ground, they are operating professionally, with determination. With strength, with firepower and also with the power of the spirit.

Netanyahu continued to talk about the goals of the operation in Gaza: "Israel did not choose to enter this campaign, but once it was forced upon us, we will not stop until we achieve the goal. Achieving peace for an extended period, and damaging Hamas' infrastructure. In tonight's operation, we uncovered more tunnels in addition to what was uncovered, and some reach into Israeli territory. Hamas has invested years of work in them, with the aim of carrying out mass attacks, and also carrying out kidnappings. This is a strategic arrangement.

""This is a risky move, but it is necessary. Tunnels like the ones we uncovered can open up inside our cities, inside a kindergarten, and the results can be deadly. There is no guarantee of 100 percent success, but we are doing our best. And I must say that the soldiers achieved far beyond expectations.".

Referring to the political arena, Netanyahu said: "We have prepared a political infrastructure for action. We agreed to the Egyptian initiative and the humanitarian ceasefires. This, combined with talks we held with world leaders, laid the foundation for the broad political support we are receiving these days. This is not taken for granted and required hard work. A little while ago I spoke again with President Obama, I thanked him again for his support for Israel at this time.".

Netanyahu again attacked Hamas: "Thanks to Israel's agreement to the ceasefire, we cannot be accused of killing. We regret any harm to innocent people, but the blame lies with Hamas, and Hamas alone.".

 Netanyahu concluded by saying, "The military operation is taking place as planned, and it will expand as much as necessary until peace returns to the citizens of Israel. When we set out, I said that it would not be a simple campaign, but we know from the history of our people that an eternal people is not afraid of a long journey. With God's help, and with your help, we will do it and succeed.".

Ya'alon also began his remarks with condolences to the families of the fallen and wishes for a speedy recovery for the wounded. Referring to the operation, Ya'alon said, "In the Gaza Strip today, the best commanders and soldiers of the IDF are fighting to prevent the threat of tunnels and rockets.

""The fallen and their comrades acted and are acting to restore peace to the citizens of Israel. They succeeded in killing dozens of Hamas terrorists and other organizations in heavily built-up areas, they have already prevented dozens of tunnel attacks. The price is painful, but we must continue. We will continue to kill Hamas terrorists and others, we will continue to destroy tunnels and terror networks, we will continue to damage Hamas buildings.

Hamas took responsibility for every death and every building that was destroyed. We are sorry for everyone who was killed, but this is the result of Hamas' actions, which built a network of tunnels inside civilian territory.

Referring to the continuation of the campaign, Ya'alon said: "We are prepared for many more days of fighting, but we must bite our lips and continue. We will continue to act to restore peace to the citizens of Israel. We are aware of the magnitude of the mission and the responsibility that rests on our shoulders.".

At the end of his remarks, Ya'alon wished to thank "the citizens of Israel, and the citizens of the south in particular, for their steadfastness. You give us the strength to stand in the battle.".

מוקדם יותר הערב, דיבר הרמטכ"ל רא"ל בני גנץ בתדרוך לעיתונאים, ואמר: "אני מתרשם שהמערכה מתנהלת ומנוהלת היטב. ממשיכים להעצים פעולות ולהגיע לעוד ועוד הישגים. מחבלים נהרגים ותשתיות נהרסות. כל מה שאני רואה בשטח זה פעילות מתמשכת ומתעצמת. אני מאוד מרוצה ממה שאני רואה ונמשיך לפעול ככל שנוכל עד שנשיג את היעדים". הרמטכ''ל התייחס למותם של 13 לוחמי גולני בפעילות מבצעית ברצועה. "היום היו נפגעים יותר מבימים קודמים, קרבות באזורים קשים ומורכבים. אנו נחושים לעמוד במשימות ואני שמח שהכוחות ידעו להתמודד עם כל קושי". רא''ל גנץ התייחס לשימוש שעושים מחבלי החמאס באוכלוסיית עזה והבהיר כי צה"ל יגיע לכל מקום בו קיימת תשתית טרור. "תושבי סג׳עאיה נופלים קורבן לטרור של החמאס. הטלנו כרוזים, הודענו הודעות אך אין לנו שום כוונה לוותר על המשימות שלנו. כולם יודעים את זה. כואב לנו לראות אנשים בלתי מעורבים פגועים. כל מקום שנבנה בו תשתית טרור נגיע אליו. אני לא מכיר צבאות אחרים שמתאמצים כמונו. יש לנו חובה מוסרית למנוע פגיעה ולכן אנחנו נחושים להמשיך להזהיר את האוכלוסייה. פתחנו בית חולים שדה לעזור. אין מדינות שתוך כדי לחימה מגישות עזרה הומניטרית", אמר גנץ.