Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, this evening:
"What is happening in Israel's cities over the past few days is unacceptable. We have seen Arab rioters set fire to synagogues and vehicles and attack police officers. They are attacking peaceful and innocent citizens.
This is something that we cannot accept; it is anarchy. Nothing justifies this and I will tell you that nothing justifies the lynching of Jews by Arabs and nothing justifies the lynching of Arabs by Jews.
We will not tolerate this. This violence is not us. We will restore administration and governance in Israel's cities everywhere, in all cities, in the Jewish-Arab integrated cities, in Jewish cities, everywhere.
I have ordered the police to adopt emergency powers, to reinforce with Border Police units and, of course, to impose curfews where necessary.
I am now going to an emergency meeting in order to give the police additional powers, give more backing for the police, and give them additional forces. I also intend to bring in military forces according to the existing law and we will pass an additional law if necessary.
We must tell the police and soldiers that we are sending them to maintain order. We will do everything so that they will have the necessary powers and forces to carry out the mission.
To the citizens of Israel I say: I do not care if your blood is boiling. You cannot take the law into your own hands.
You cannot grab an ordinary Arab citizen and try to lynch him – just as we cannot watch Arab citizens do this to Jewish citizens. This will not happen. This is something that I am certain is shared by most citizens of Israel.
We are in a fight on two fronts, on one front against Hamas and we are all united and Hamas is firing missiles and rockets that hurt Jews and Arabs alike.
Let us come together and do the task that is necessary for us as citizens of our state – to restore governance, eliminate this anarchy and maintain and restore the security and quiet that we all deserve.
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I said that we would strike Hamas and the other terrorist organizations very hard – and we are doing just that. In the last 24 hours, we have attacked underground targets. Hamas thought that it could hide there but it cannot hide there.
Hamas senior officials think that they can flee from our strikes -- they cannot flee. We will reach them everywhere, all of these people, and we will continue to do so.
They attacked us on our holiday. They attacked our capital. They launched missiles at our cities. They are paying, and will pay, a very heavy price for this. This is not yet over. We will do everything to restore security to our cities and our people.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited an Iron Dome battery in central Israel
Prime Minister Netanyahu:
"I am here at one of the Iron Dome batteries. The commanders and soldiers are doing extraordinary work in defending the skies and citizens of Israel.
PM Netanyahu: "Achieving 100% is impossible but they are getting pretty close to it and we all appreciate this twice over: Defensively and offensively.
The defensive actions of Iron Dome batteries give us space to mount attacks. The IDF has already attacked hundreds of targets and we will soon pass 1,000.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu:
"We are in the midst of a major campaign – Operation Guardian of the Walls. Yesterday and today, the IDF attacked hundreds of Hamas and Islamic Jihad terrorist targets in the Gaza Strip.
PM Netanyahu: "We have eliminated dozens of terrorists, including senior commanders. We have bombed Hamas command centers and toppled buildings that serve the terrorist organizations. We will continue to attack with full force.
We have just finished a consultation and assessment of the situation with the heads of the security establishment and we made decisions. Hamas and Islamic Jihad have paid and will pay a very heavy price for their aggression. I say here this evening: their blood is on their heads.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, following a situation assessment:
"I have just finished – at IDF Southern Command – an assessment of the situation with the Defense Minister, the IDF Chief-of-Staff and GOC Southern Command."
We are in the midst of a campaign. Since yesterday, the IDF has made hundreds of attacks against Hamas and Islamic Jihad in Gaza. We have targeted commanders. We have hit many quality targets. The conclusion of the meeting is to further increase the force and pace of the attacks.
Hamas will receive blows here that it did not expect. I know that this also entails patience and a certain sacrifice on your part, citizens of Israel.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, this evening, at the main Jerusalem Day ceremony at Ammunition Hill:
"We are in a fight on several fronts: Jerusalem, Gaza and elsewhere in the country.
This evening, on Jerusalem Day, the terrorist organizations in Gaza have crossed a red line and attacked us with missiles in the outskirts of Jerusalem.
Israel will respond with great force. We will not tolerate attacks on our territory, on our capital, on our citizens and on our soldiers. Whoever attacks us will pay a heavy price.
Prime Minister Netanyahu at the state memorial ceremony for Ethiopian Jews who perished while on their way to Israel:
A struggle is now being waged for the heart of Jerusalem. It is the struggle between intolerance and tolerance, between law-breaking violence and law and order.
This struggle is not new because it has been waged, in effect, over Jerusalem and the heart of Jerusalem for hundreds of years, since the rise of the three monotheistic faiths.
Sometimes one side was in control and excluded the other two and sometimes they traded places and the same thing happened.