Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday spoke at a government meeting, sharing the reason for the US and Iran's
failure to reach an agreement, as well as the next steps in Lebanon.
Netanyahu shared, "I spoke yesterday with Vice President JD Vance. He called me from his plane on the way back from Islamabad. He briefed me in detail, as members of this administration do daily, on the progress of the negotiations; in this case, the collapse of the negotiations."
"The explosion came from the American side, which could not tolerate Iran's blatant violation of the agreement to enter into negotiations. The agreement was that firing would cease and the Iranians would immediately open the straits. They did not do it. The Americans could not accept that.
"He also made it clear to me that the central issue on the agenda for President Trump and the US is the removal of all enriched [nuclear] material, and ensuring there is no more enrichment in the coming years, and this could be for decades, no enrichment inside Iran. This is their focus, and of course, it is important to us as well."
Netanyahu added, "Since Iran violated the rules, President Trump decided to impose a naval blockade on them. We, of course, support this firm stance, and we are in constant coordination with the US. The talk as if there is a disconnect between us is the complete opposite. Anyone who was around during this call, and during the daily conversations we hold with the President and his people, his staff, can testify to that. This is coordination like never before; there is something here that hasn't happened. It hasn't happened in the history of the State, and it hasn't happened in the history of the Jewish people: We have coordination with the strongest power in the world, and we have the ability to repel dangers of annihilation."
Regarding the Lebanon front, Netanyahu shared, "Yesterday, I was in Lebanon, in the security zone, with our forces, with our wonderful reservists and our daring commanders. They are doing incredible work there with a steadfast spirit, great determination, and significant successes that must, of course, be recognized."
"The first thing is that they are pushing the enemy away from the border. We are not talking about five points; we are talking about a solid, deeper security zone that both prevents the danger of invasion and distances the anti-tank missile threat. They are also dealing with the terrorist villages that were adjacent to us, where every terrorist position, and there are many, is simply being flattened. You have to see it; it is a massive change.
"You also have to see their spirit. There is also a threat from high-trajectory rocket fire, and that is being addressed as well; there are important innovations there, but there is work to be done. I was very impressed by the readiness and the understanding that we must restore security to the North and ensure that the residents of the North receive the same measure of security as all citizens of Israel. We will not rest until we restore their security.
"And of course, the fighting continues; it has not stopped. It is continuing all the time. Yesterday and today, it was
concentrated in Bint Jbeil. That is regarding Lebanon."
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Netanyahu also shared a message ahead of International Holocaust Remembrance Day, saying, "I met yesterday with Holocaust survivors, those who will light the torches today. I was moved to hear their stories. It is supreme heroism and survival against all odds. It needs to be heard today. But I told them there is one huge difference: During the Holocaust, we were, as the poet Uri Zvi Greenberg said, 'like a hunted animal.' We couldn't do anything. We were hunted, we were slaughtered; only individuals survived."
"Today, the tables have turned: We are the ones hunting our oppressors. They who came to destroy us are currently fighting for their survival. The power of the State of Israel, only 80 years after the Holocaust, is visible to the entire world. Even if the world has forgotten the Holocaust, we have not forgotten. We know that we must stand up to evil in time and with strength, and we are doing so, as no country other than the US is doing.
"The State of Israel is at the peak of its power, and the most important thing to say on the eve of Holocaust Martyrs’ and Heroes’ Remembrance Day is this: If we had not acted, if we had not taken our fate into our own hands in the independent State of Israel, with the Israel Defense Forces and our security arms, the names Isfahan, Natanz, Fordow, and Bushehr would be remembered like Auschwitz, Majdanek, and Sobibor. That is exactly the whole difference. They come to destroy us and we rise up against them.
"In every generation, they rise against us; in this generation, we rose against them, and this is a massive change that all citizens of Israel should welcome. This ensures the main thing: Never Again. Every year I stand at Yad Vashem and I say:
'There will not be another Holocaust.' And today, these words are backed up by the great deeds of the IDF, by the steadfast standing of the citizens of Israel, and by the very strong determination of the Government of Israel."
