Remarks at Meeting
with Heads of Local Authorities During War
(July 31, 2006)
The fighting continues. There is no cease fire
and there will be no cease fire. The IDF is fighting
in the air, sea and land, and at this very moment,
the IDF is advancing in the south of Lebanon to destroy
the terrorist infrastructures there.
Mr. Minister, the honorable Chairman of the Center
of Local Authorities, Mayor of Karmiel, which is at
the front line of this campaign, my friend Adi Eldar,
my friends and partners, heads of local councils in
the State of Israel,
Citizens of Israel,
Israel continues to fight.
This campaign began exactly 20 days ago, when the
Hizbullah terrorist organization attacked Israeli soldiers
on Israeli territory, killed eight, kidnapped two -
Udi Goldwasser and Eldad Regev - and began launching
a barrage of missiles against our northern communities.
When the campaign began, I said it was not going to
be easy. We knew then, my fellow ministers and I, that
it would be difficult and even painful, sometimes very
painful. We said that we would have to show a great
deal of ingenuity and patience in order to reach all
terrorists, locate all their hiding places and strike
against all their missile launchers. We said that we
would pay the heaviest price of all - in human life
- and in the loss of property, loss of peace, loss
of the daily routine and sometimes, for a brief period,
even loss of a zest for life.
We knew and we decided that there was no way other
than a harsh, comprehensive and uncompromising response.
We could not let the terror state, built by Hizbullah
across our northern border, continue to gain strength.
We could not let them amass more missiles, more rockets
and more deadly weapons.
Had we gritted out teeth and shown restraint, the
day would come - and it would not be far - when the
barrage of rockets and missiles would cause you, primarily
the residents of the north, irreparable damage.
We decided to fight back, and we will finish this
war when the threat is removed, when our kidnapped
soldiers - Udi Goldwasser, Eldad Regev and Gilad Shalit
- and their fellow fighters return home in peace and
when you can live safely in your homes, on the streets
of your cities and towns and in your workplaces.
These days, I think a lot about our young soldiers,
our courageous fighters, and about you, their parents,
brothers, sisters, children and friends.
I think about Roi Klein, deputy commander of the Golani
Brigade 51st battalion. Roi, who was leading his fighters,
jumped on the grenade thrown at them, absorbed the
force of the explosion on his body and saved the lives
of his fighters. He still had the chance to murmur "Hear
O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is One" and
asked the signal operator to report his death. This
is how he died. His small children, Gilad and Yoav,
and his wife Sarah, remained orphaned.
I think about Roi, and my soul cannot find peace.
I think of Yiftah Schreier, Amihai Merhavia, Tom Farkash,
Ran Kochva, Tzvika Luft, Vorkenach Adega, Yotam Gilboa,
Yonatan Hadassi and the rest of their brave friends
- 33 in number since the beginning of this campaign
- and of their families, whose lives will never again
return to what they were just a few days ago. I think
of the endless pain and never-ending longing, of Gilad
and Yoav who will never have a chance to know their
heroic father, of Yarden, Yiftach's twin brother, and
of Amihai's brothers and sisters, and I pray that we
will be worthy of their sacrifice.
I think of all their friends who survived these fierce
battles, their commanders and the spirit which beats
in them and pushes them forward.
I think about Doa Abbas from Mrar, aged 15, who was
sitting at home reading a book when the missile penetrated
her room. I think about Andre Zelinsky from Naharia
who was stepping out of the shelter for just one minute
to get his daughter some warm clothes, and suffered
a direct hit.
I think about Rafi Hazan from Haifa, who got married
only two months ago.
I think about Robin Nitzo who drove to Tzfat to be
with his frightened children in these difficult moments.
And I think about all the other citizens - 18 in number
- the fighters of the home front who lost their lives
in this battle.
In our daily routine, we are so occupied with the
day-to-day troubles that we often fail to understand
what a remarkable and unique nation we are, what a
deep sense of mutual responsibility and endless love
we have for our magnificent people and land.
I pray that the same spirit of solidarity and brotherhood,
of volunteering and mutual aid, which sweeps our nation
at this time, will not fade away and disappear when
the battles subside, when we return to our routine
and to dealing with the day-to-day challenges.
Citizens of Israel,
My friends, heads of local authorities,
The alarm sirens which are heard day and night across
the north echo throughout the entire country and gradually
spread throughout the world. Many identify with our
struggle and support our most simple and natural demand
to be a free nation in our land! From here I wish to
convey a message to everyone: we are determined to
win this battle. We are paying a heavy price, an endlessly
painful price in human life, disruption of the life
routine, loss of personal security and massive destruction
of private and public property, but we are not willing
to forfeit our right to a simple life, a life free
of terror, free of constant turmoil, threat, fanaticism
and hatred.
We are not willing to give up our right to a normal
life - like any other nation, like any other society,
anywhere.
Not everyone identifies with us. More than a few criticize
us and express reservations with our battle. We seek
neither conflict nor confrontation, but it is our right
to tell all those who attack us: none of you would
ever acquiesce to such murderous attacks against your
citizens. I do not want to tell you what you would
have done if you had been in our place.
I will only say that the State of Israel sanctifies
the most fundamental moral values, which are carved
in our ancient Jewish tradition - and in our blood
which was spilled - and we do not need any nation or
any country to teach us these principles. We do not
pursue innocent civilians, we do not fight against
the Lebanese people and we do not seek to topple their
government. We are fighting against reckless terrorists,
and we will not stop fighting them until we remove
them from our border.
I deeply regret the civilians - adults and children
- who were killed in Kafr Qana. We did not seek to
harm them, we did not want their death. They were not
our enemies and they were not the target of our aircraft.
I wish to appeal to the citizens of Lebanon:
Again you are being led by murderous terrorists into
a reality of destruction and devastation. Just when
a new chapter began in your country, with new spirits
of freedom and democracy, you were taken hostage by
the Hizbullah organization of murderers. This organization
does not fight the war of the people of Lebanon. There
is no cause for conflict between us and Lebanon. There
is no territorial dispute and no ideological “abyss” between
us. We and you need to want the same thing - the right
to a simple, quiet and safe life.
Hizbullah is serving the interests of other nations,
primarily Syria and Iran. These countries spread venom.
They cultivate hatred, fanaticism, radicalism and insatiable
lust to destroy those who live according to other norms
of ethics and culture.
You, residents of Lebanon, even those who are angry
with us and our army for the massive damage inflicted
upon you as a result of this war - a war which you
did not want and which most of you had no part or interest
in - know very well that your enemy is not the State
of Israel, but rather Sheikh Nasrallah and his ilk,
who were ready to sacrifice the lives of so many of
you in order to serve the interests of a foreign country.
See for yourselves how many Arab-Muslim countries
distance themselves from Hizbullah and join the majority
of world nations which denounce this terrorist organization
and justify Israel's right to self-defense. Was all
this worth it? Is this what you would have chosen had
the decision been in your hands?
Citizens of Lebanon, we regret the pain caused to
so many of you, the fact that you had to flee your
homes and places of residence and the unintentional
harm to innocents, but we do not apologize for it.
We want to coexist with you in calm and tranquility,
and, with God's help, also in peace. But we will not
give up - not even for a moment - our right to protect
the State of Israel and defend our lives, and we will
not apologize to those who dare to question Israel’s
right to exist.
The founder of the State of Israel, David Ben Gurion,
said at the Temporary State Council in 1948: "while
we have never despaired of the human conscience and
never ceased - and will never cease - from demanding
from the world what is rightfully ours, based on law
and justice, we must always memorize to ourselves,
day and night, that our existence - our freedom, our
future - depend first and foremost on ourselves, our
efforts, our abilities and our will".
Dear heads of local authorities,
You are the long arm of the central government of
Israel, and at the same time, the direct representatives
of all the citizens of Israel, particularly those currently
on the civilian front line, who are the target of Hizbullah's
vicious missile attacks in the north, who suffer losses
in life, and who are under the constant threat of Kassam
rockets in the south.
You, heads of councils, currently face one of the
most difficult trials of leadership. These days, the
public which you are leading needs a responsible, supportive
and sensible leadership - as the one you demonstrate.
These days, the local government in Israel is the
central backbone of the home front. You are close to
the public, you are well familiar with your residents,
their homes, the systems addressing their hardship.
You, who reach every corner of the city, every street
which is bombed and every deserted house, assist every
citizen in distress, provide a hot meal to the hungry
and a bed and blanket to the needy - you are the key
to the fortitude of Israeli society at this time of
trial. You are withstanding this test - which you stumbled
upon unintentionally - in an impressive manner.
You, heads of authorities and residents of the north,
added a new dimension to the term "deterrence
resulting from the fortitude of the home front".
Our spirit cannot be broken by attacks against our
cities, because we are a stubborn nation.
The Government of Israel, in all its branches - ministers,
directors and officials - is with you and behind you
day and night in order to help you formulate an answer,
in real time, to the acute problems created as a result
of the war. We will not stop.
We will compensate workers, employees and freelancers
from the north in order to minimize, to the best possible
extent, the economic damage. We will assist council
heads in dealing with the consequences of the war,
particularly on the day when this campaign is over
and we return to our routine. We will make certain
that the workers get their salaries and that indirect
damages inflicted upon so many residents will be fairly
covered. We will initiate special funds, in cooperation
with the banking system, to support small and medium
businesses which need return capital. We have already
transferred 50 million NIS to northern authorities,
and we have decided - the Minister of Finance, the
Minister of the Interior and myself - to transfer a
second emergency grant in the amount of 100 million
NIS in order to enable the management of these cities
at this time of emergency.
I want to thank the hundreds of volunteers, organizations,
institutes, authorities and business sector bodies
which work day and night to assist the residents of
the north. Many Jewish communities from around the
world support and assist the residents of the north.
The spirit of volunteering warms my heart, when I see
people of good means, and even less privileged people,
who are willing to contribute to the citizens at the
front line.
Since the war in Lebanon began, we reached substantial
and important achievements. The achievements are substantial.
Hizbullah does not look today as it did 20 days ago
- threatening, arrogant and dangerous. They suffered
a major blow and it will take them a long time - if
ever - to recuperate. We expelled Hizbullah from its
positions along the border with Israel and removed
this immediate threat. Never again will we agree that
Hizbullah return to these posts and continue to threaten
to kidnap soldiers or directly fire at our northern
communities.
We succeeded in damaging the organization's long-range
missile system deep inside Lebanon, and we will continue
to do that. We destroyed Hizbullah's command and control
systems, as well as its headquarters, and damaged its
infrastructures. Hizbullah's military bases and compounds
in Beirut, Baalbek and other places no longer look
the same.
The array of Katyushas spread in south Lebanon was
severely damaged. We succeeded in locating and striking
the smuggling of ammunition from Syria to the Hizbullah,
which continues at this very moment, and we will continue
to do this. We will no longer tolerate the transfer
of weapons to Hizbullah and we will not allow the organization
to regain its capabilities.
The organization's leadership is hiding, it operates
in the dark, in fear for its life, and we will continue
to pursue it, any place, any time. It is a leadership
under pressure, engaged in a web of lies and manipulations
designed to conceal the true reality.
The organization and its leader are isolated in both
the Lebanese and Arab arenas. He is no longer perceived
as representing the armed struggle against Israel
or as the defender of Lebanon, but rather as the one
who caused the destruction of Lebanon and its residents
and who acted irresponsibly and irrationally.
The international backing which Israel enjoys in this
current operation is also unprecedented, as manifested
in the G-8 statement. The international community stands
united alongside Israel in its battle against Hizbullah
and supports the attack and ultimate dismantling of
the organization.
For the first time, conditions have been created to
begin implementation of UN Resolution 1559, which calls
for the disarming of Hizbullah, its expulsion from
the border and the deployment of the Lebanese army
along the border. The international community stands
ready to take concrete steps to implement this resolution
by dispatching an international army to deploy along
the border with Israel and at the Lebanon-Syria border
crossings and to operate effectively to dismantle the
organization's military capabilities.
This is almost a one time opportunity to change the
rules of the game in Lebanon. Much work is still ahead,
on both the military and political levels, and we will
not stop until we have achieved the sought after results.
We will not stop!
We will invest maximum effort in order to make certain
that the reality which existed in Lebanon on the eve
of the operation never recurs.
Citizens of Israel,
The campaign has not yet been completed. There are
still many days of fighting ahead of us. Missiles and
rockets will continue to land, and hours of fear, uncertainty
and yes - even pain, tears and blood, are still expected.
We will not give up and we will not stop. We will
continue to fight until we achieve the objectives and
goals which we set for ourselves, and until we bring
peace, calm and tranquility to our land.
As Nathan Alterman wrote:
"A time will come when peace again prevails all
around us,
When walls and barriers are broken,
We will return to our labor: fields to harvest"
Thank you.
Sources: Ministry of Foreign Affairs |