Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed on Tuesday not to cave to international pressure demanding a cease-fire in the war against Hamas.
This from newsmax.com.
During a visit to the IDF Sky Rider Unit at the Zikim Base along the border with the Gaza Strip, Netanyahu said:
There is considerable pressure on Israel at home and abroad to stop the war before we achieve all of its goals, including a deal at any price to free the hostages.
Further:
We very much want to achieve another release and we are prepared to go far but we are not prepared to pay any price, certainly not the delusional prices that Hamas is demanding of us, the meaning of which is the defeat of the State of Israel.
Netanyahu reiterated his commitment to continue prosecuting the war until Israel achieves all its goals:
– Eliminating Hamas,
– [R]eleasing all of the hostages, and
– [E]ensuring that Gaza never again constitutes a threat to Israel.
He stated emphatically:
There is no pressure, none, that can change this.
During the tour, Netanyahu was briefed on the unit’s achievements and operated a drone monitoring the skies over Gaza.
In an address to the nation on Saturday, Netanyahu said:
[T]hose urging Jerusalem to end the fighting before launching an operation in Gaza’s southernmost city of Rafah were effectively calling for the Jewish state to lose to Hamas.
I speak with world leaders every day. I tell them decisively: Israel will fight until we achieve total victory. And indeed, this includes action in Rafah, of course after we allow the civilians found in the combat zones to evacuate to safe areas.
Further:
Whoever wants to prevent us from operating in Rafah is telling us in effect to lose the war. I will not allow this. …
We will not surrender to any pressure. We will not surrender, because we are a people of heroes. We will not surrender because we are a people that desires life.
We will not surrender because we must—must—defeat the evil.
The comments come after Joe Biden on Friday demanded a temporary cease-fire to secure the release of hostages in Gaza, claiming:
[A] deal has to go through before Israel launches a military operation in Rafah.
According to Israel:
[T]here are four Hamas battalions positioned in Rafah, along the Egyptian border, the population of which has swelled to some 1.5 million, more than half of Gaza’s total of 2.3 million, after the Israel Defense Forces directed northern Gazans to a humanitarian zone there when fighting began in October.
Netanyahu on Sunday urged the international community to increase pressure on Qatar to bring about the release of the remaining hostages being held by Hamas in Gaza.
The remarks came as weeks-long on-again off-again American-backed talks through Qatari and Egyptian intermediaries to reach an agreement for the release of the remaining 134 hostages being held in Gaza have stalled over Hamas demands.
Approximately 100 of the hostages are believed to be alive.
The United States said Wednesday:
[T]he World Court could not order the immediate withdrawal of Israeli troops from occupied territories without taking into account Israel’s security needs.
During proceedings at the U.N.’s highest court examining the legality of Israel’s occupation of the Palestinian territories, Richard Visek, acting legal adviser at the U.S. State Department, said:
Any movement towards Israel’s withdrawal from the West Bank and Gaza requires consideration for Israel’s very real security needs.
