Jerusalem, 10 April, 2023 (TPS) — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed the Israeli public Monday night in a speech shown live on all of Israel’s broadcast television channels on the continuing acts of terror the country has suffered since the start of this year’s Passover holiday, reassuring people that their government will protect them. To emphasize the security nature of the speech, Netanyahu spoke from the offices of Israel’s Ministry of Defense in Tel Aviv.
These attacks included the murder of a mother and two of her daughters in a shooting attack last week and the firing of rockets at Israel by Hamas backed terrorists out of Gaza and Lebanon. And just before the start of the holiday Israel Police were also forced to deal with a group of several hundred who had barricaded themselves inside the mosque on top of the Temple Mt. in Jerusalem and stockpiled possible weapons there with the intention of attacking Jewish worshippers over Passover.
Netanyahu pledged that his government will do what is needed to meet the current threats and announced that Defense Minister Yoav Gallant will remain on the job. This was clearly an attempt to show stability at the top of Israel’s security establishment.
“There were disagreements between us, even severe ones, but I put them behind us. We will continue to work together,” said Netanyahu of Gallant. “We continue together with full force, for the security of Israel.”
Netanyahu had fired Gallant, a former general, a few weeks ago after the minister publicly broke with the government over its judicial reform plan. But Netanyahu never made the termination official and ever since there has been uncertainty over who is really in charge in the Ministry of Defense, something the opposition alleged harmed Israel’s security.
And Netanyahu charged that it is the opposition that is to blame for the current wave of attacks because they led terrorists and Israel’s enemies to believe the country was divided and weakened by internal political divisions. He further charged that the growing calls for refusal to perform IDF reserve duty as a form of protest against his government not only hurt IDF preparedness but also emboldened the terrorists to act.
Netanyahu went on to remind the public that in his time in office from 2009 to 2022 Israel experienced a period of security and quiet on its borders not seen in the previous decades.
Netanyahu also pledged that his government’s judicial reforms will not lead to turning the country into some sort of theocratic state and that he will continue to honor Israel’s democratic values and protect the rights of all of its minorities, including women and various religions.
