‘If we have to stand alone, we will stand alone’: Netanyahu snubs Biden
- In Reports
- 11:59 AM, May 10, 2024
- Myind Staff
Israel's Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has stated that despite international pressure to cease the Gaza conflict, Israel will remain resolute and prepared to confront Hamas even if it means standing alone.
"As the Prime Minister of Israel, the one and only Jewish State, I pledge here today, from Jerusalem, on this Holocaust Remembrance Day, if Israel is forced to stand alone, Israel will stand alone. But we know we are not alone, because countless decent people around the world support our just cause. And I say to you we will defeat our genocidal enemies," he said.
Netanyahu spoke to the nation shortly after US President Joe Biden declared that the US would not supply Israel with offensive weaponry for its attack on Rafah during the ongoing conflict with Hamas.
During Israel's annual Holocaust Memorial Day, Netanyahu delivered a passionate speech, lamenting that 80 years ago, when Jewish people were defenseless, no nation came forward to assist them.
“Eighty years ago, in the Holocaust, the Jewish people were totally defenceless against those who sought our destruction. No nation came to our aid,” he said.
"Today, we again confront enemies bent on our destruction. I say to the leaders of the world, no amount of pressure, no decision by any international forum will stop Israel from defending itself," he said.
Netanyahu added, "If we have to stand alone, we will stand alone. If we need to, we will fight with our fingernails. But we have much more than fingernails."
Israeli military spokesman Daniel Hagari stressed late Thursday that the army had "enough weaponry to complete our mission in Rafah". "The United States has helped us in an unprecedented manner since the start of the war," he said in a televised address. "We have our own interests and we are sensitive to the US interests," he added.
During the past week, numerous residents in Rafah have been contacted via phone calls, SMS messages, air-dropped leaflets, and media announcements, urging them to evacuate to humanitarian zones outside the city, likely in anticipation of a significant military operation by the Israeli forces.
On May 5, Hamas launched a barrage of rockets from the vicinity of the Rafah border crossing and near an area where displaced Palestinians had taken refuge in tents.
Image source: AFP
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