Address by Prime Minister Ehud Olmert
The Knesset, July 17, 2006
Madam Speaker,
Ladies and gentlemen,
Members of Knesset,
Over the past few weeks, our enemies have challenged the sovereignty of the State of Israel and the safety of its residents - first in the southern sector, then on the northern border, and deeper into the home front.
Israel did not seek these confrontations. On the contrary. We have done a lot to prevent them. We returned to the borders of the State of Israel, recognized by the entire international community. There were those who misconstrued our desire for peace - for us and our neighbors - as a sign of frailty. Our enemies misinterpreted our willingness to exercise restraint as a sign of weakness.
They were wrong!
Madam Speaker, Members of Knesset,
The State of Israel has no territorial conflict, neither on our southern border nor on our northern one. In these two areas, we are sitting on the recognized international border - both vis-�*-vis the Palestinian Authority in the Gaza Strip, and in Lebanon.
We have no intention of interfering in their internal affairs. On the contrary, stability and tranquility in Lebanon, free of the rule of foreign powers, and in the Palestinian Authority, are in Israel's interest and are our deep desires.
We yearn for the day when peace will prevail between us, for the mutual benefit of our peoples from both sides of our common border. The campaign we are engaged in these days is against the terror organizations operating from Lebanon and Gaza. These organizations are nothing but "sub-contractors" operating under the inspiration, permission, instigation and financing of the terror-sponsoring and peace-rejecting regimes, on the Axis of Evil which stretches from Tehran to Damascus.
Lebanon has suffered heavily in the past, when it allowed foreign powers to gamble on its fate.
Iran and Syria still continue to meddle, from afar, in the affairs of Lebanon and the Palestinian Authority, through Hizballah and the Hamas. Even if last Wednesday's criminal attack against an IDF patrol was carried out without the consent of the Lebanese government and without the assistance of its military, this does not absolve it of full responsibility for the attack which emanated from its sovereign territory. Just as the fact that the Chairman of the Palestinian Authority opposes terrorism against Israel does not relieve him and the Palestinian Authority of their responsibility for the attack carried out from their territory against our soldiers in Kerem Shalom. They are both fully responsible for the safety of our soldiers who were taken hostage.
Radical, terrorist and violent elements are sabotaging the life of this entire region and placing its stability at risk. The region in which we live is threatened by these murderous terror groups.
It is a regional - as well as global - interest to take control and terminate their activity.
We can all see how the majority of the international community supports our battle against the terror organizations and our efforts to remove this threat of the Middle East.
We intend to do this. We will continue to operate in full force until we achieve this. On the Palestinian front, we will conduct a tireless battle until terror ceases, Gilad Shalit is returned home safely and the shooting of Qassam missiles stops.
And in Lebanon, we will insist on compliance with the terms stipulated long ago by the international community, as unequivocally expressed only yesterday in the resolution of the 8 leading countries of the world:
- The return of the hostages, Ehud (Udi) Goldwasser and Eldad Regev;
- A complete cease fire;
- Deployment of the Lebanese army in all of Southern Lebanon;
- Expulsion of Hizballah from the area, and the fulfilment of United Nations Resolution 1559.
We will not suspend our actions.
On both fronts we are exercising self-defense in the most basic and essential sense. In both cases, it is a matter whose importance and significance go far beyond the size of the military units involved.
We are at a national moment of truth. Will we consent to living under the threat of this Axis of Evil or will we mobilize our inner strength and show determination and composure?
Our answer is clear to every Israeli, and it echoes today throughout the entire region.
We will search every compound, target every terrorist who assists in attacking the citizens of Israel, and destroy every terrorist infrastructure, everywhere. We will persist until Hizballah and Hamas comply with those basic and decent things required of them by every civilized person. Israel will not agree to live in the shadow of missiles or rockets against its residents.
Citizens of Israel, There are moments in the life of a nation, when it is compelled to look directly into the face of reality and say: no more!
And I say to everyone: no more!
Israel will not be held hostage - not by terror gangs or by a terrorist authority or by any sovereign state.
All of us - Jews, Muslims, Christians, Druze and Circassians - now stand as one person, as one nation, subject together to the same hatred and malice, and fighting against it in consensus and partnership. When missiles are launched at our residents and cities, our answer will be war with all the strength, determination, valour, sacrifice and dedication which characterize this nation.
There is nothing we want more than peace and good neighbourly relations - in the east, north and south. We seek peace, we pursue peace and we yearn for peace. At the same time, there is nothing we reject more than an attempt to harm us and make us give up our right to live here, in our land, in security and peace.
On behalf of the people of Israel, on behalf of all the residents of the country, I came here today, Madam Speaker, to announce to the world: we seek neither war nor direct confrontation, but we will not be deterred from them when the need arises. Only a nation that can defend its freedom truly deserves it. We are entitled to our freedom, and when necessary, we know how to fight for it and defend it.
The government of Israel, under my leadership, derives strength from the stamina of the Israeli public. We are a brave and determined nation. I am proud today - perhaps more than ever before - to be an Israeli citizen.
Thanks to you, our enemies come up against a united nation, which fights together, shoulder to shoulder. We do not surrender and we do not panic.
We believe in the justice of our cause, because there is no battle more just or moral than ours - a battle for the right to a peaceful and normal life, like any other human being, any other nation and any other state.
We fight for everything that everyone in the enlightened world takes for granted and never imagined that they would have to fight for - the right to a normal life.
It is a difficult battle! It may become even more difficult. It is a painful test, and we may have to bear more suffering. Such a battle is never easy. It is strewn with pain and suffering, sacrifice, and casualties.
But, we have no intention of giving up our desire to live a normal life. We will not apologize for this desire, and we do not need anyone's approval to defend ourselves.
Citizens of Israel, This is a difficult time of trial for all of us. The State of Israel has withstood much more complex trials - and triumphed.
We have always known how to mobilize our inner strength, equanimity, wisdom and patience, in order to overcome our enemies.
But together we will triumph and hopefully with gods help bring peace to this region.
