Oct 1 2015
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed the United Nations General Assembly in New York on Thursday, slamming the world body for its indifference to Iranian threats to wipe Israel off the map and for encouraging Palestinian rejectionism.
Netanyahu said that the Iran deal “doesn’t make peace more likely,” but by giving Iran billions of dollars in sanctions relief the deal makes war more likely.
Iran has boosted the delivery of supplies and troops into Syria, he said. “It did all this to prop up [Syrian President Bashar] Assad’s brutal regime.”
He said that Iran had delivered SA-22 and Yakhount missiles to Hezbollah in Lebanon in order to target Israel. In addition, Iran has built armed drones for Hamas and the Islamic Jihad in Gaza, Netanyahu said.
Iran also promised to arm Palestinians in the West Bank and sent Iranian Revolutionary Guards generals to the Golan Heights, he said.
“We will continue to act to stop the transfer of weapons from Iran to Hezbollah in Lebanon through Syrian territory,” he said, alluding to Israeli air strikes in Syria.
The nuclear deal “will not turn the rapacious tiger into a kitten,” he said. “When bad behavior is rewarded it only gets worse,” he added.
“The greatest danger facing our world is the coupling of militant Islam with nuclear weapons,” he said. The deal with Iran could be “the marriage certificate of this unholy union,” he added.
He slammed the UN’s “deafening silence” in the face of Iran’s threats to wipe out Israel. The prime minister then remained silent for more than 40 seconds to emphasize his point on this silence.
“Perhaps you’d be more reluctant to celebrate,” if the deal threatened your neighborhood, Netanyahu said, adding that Iran’s intercontinental ballistic missiles being built were meant for the US and Europe. “For raining down mass destruction, anytime, anywhere.”
No one should doubt Israel’s determination to defend itself against those who threaten it with destruction, he warned.
“Your plan to destroy Israel will fail,” he said, addressing the rulers of Iran. No force on earth will threaten Israel’s future. We will do whatever it takes to defend our state and our people, he added.
Common dangers, such as Islamic State and Iran are bringing Israel and its Arab neighbors closer, Netanyahu said. He said that he hoped to build partnerships with these nations, but said that the alliance between Israel and the United States would remain the Jewish state’s most important relationship.
“Our differences about the nuclear deal are a disagreement within the family,” he said, echoing US President Barack Obama.
Turning to the diplomatic process, Netanyahu said that Israel remains committed to achieving peace with the Palestinians.
“I am prepared to immediately resume direct negotiations with the Palestinian Authority without any pre-conditions whatsoever.” Unfortunately, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas said yesterday that he is not prepared to do this, he added, in reference to Abbas’s threat to stop abiding by the Oslo Accords in his own speech to the General Assembly on Wednesday.
I remain committed to the two-state solution, he said. But peace cannot be achieved with those who refuse to come to the negotiating table, he added.
“Don’t use the Palestinian state as a stepping stone to another Islamist dictatorship in the Middle East, but make its something real. We can do remarkable things,” he said.
UN-imposed solutions or encouragement of Palestinian rejectionism will not bring peace, he said. “The UN should finally rid itself of the obsessive bashing of Israel.”
He called on the UN to stand with Israel in the fight against fanaticism, saying that Israel was at the frontlines in the fight against barbarism. “Israel is defending you.”