Hebrew → English transcript

First, I would like to commend you for your steadfast stand.

I fully understand that the mission placed on you is heavy,

and it is heavier than the one placed on your colleagues, the mayors and heads of communities in other parts of the country,

because of the short distances from Lebanon and the short warning times from Lebanon.

This adds an obvious difficulty, a very serious one that must be addressed.

First of all, what are the steps we are taking, or have taken so far, and what will we do going forward?

First, even on the evening of the budget, I instructed that the cut regarding the north be canceled.

Not only did I instruct that it be canceled, I also said that it should be supplemented with things that are essential for you,

in rehabilitation, in services for populations in need, and more.

Second, I ask you to do everything that can be done to prevent residents from leaving the communities.

I understand that there are special needs for the elderly, for people with disabilities,

and also in Zadorit I ask that you assist and provide care.

There are solutions, but they must be brought, and again they must be brought in real time, now.

Third, I would like to tell you, as much as I am able to tell you,

about the principles that guide our military operation.

I remind you first of all of the threats that Hezbollah built up for nearly forty years,

which consisted first and foremost of one hundred and fifty thousand rockets and missiles.

This was the most concentrated area on the face of the earth in terms of missiles and rockets,

aimed, of course, at the Galilee and, of course, at the mountains of Israel.

There was a threat that they would in fact turn both the Galilee and the mountains of Israel, all the mountains of Israel,

into ruins.

We have eliminated most of this threat, and there is still work to be done, and I will address this shortly.

Second, we faced the threat of a ground invasion, an invasion by thousands of Radwan terrorists.

Above ground and below ground, we eliminated this threat.

We created a real security zone that does not allow a ground invasion into the Galilee, into the northern border.

Third, we are expanding this security zone in order to push away the threat of anti-tank missiles against our communities and our territory.

We are simply creating a larger buffer area.

Now, the issue of dismantling Hezbollah is front and center for us.

This matter is also connected to the overall campaign against Iran, which is still in full swing, contrary to what is reported in the media,

but we are absolutely determined to do everything to change the situation in Lebanon from the ground up.

Regarding the Druze, I think this is one of the things that touched my heart in a completely direct way.

The fact that they came and slaughtered them with the same cruelty with which they slaughtered the citizens of Israel,

and I knew that it largely depended on us to stop it, not largely, entirely.

I thought this was both a matter of the highest moral importance and a matter of the highest political importance.

This commitment stands and remains in force.

I want to say a word about our heroic fighters,

because essentially their heroism, their daring, changed the equation,

I do not need to remind you where we were and where we are today.

We are breaking boundaries, in every sense of the word.

We are doing things thanks to them, thanks to their commanders, and also thanks to the decisions we are making.

Israel is stronger than ever and Iran is weaker than ever.

Iran is still trying by all kinds of means, you see it and you know it,

but we have changed the way people relate to us.

I can tell you that I am not the one saying this, the countries of the region are saying it,

and new opportunities are emerging here for alliances we never dreamed of,

because of the assessment of the strength of the State of Israel and the determination of the Israel Defense Forces

and the steadfastness of Israel’s citizens, it all intertwines,

there is a completely different assessment of Israel’s power and of Israel’s role in the region.

And if this is true for the Middle East as a whole, it is certainly true and must also be expressed in the north of the country

and in the problems that we have dealt with.