Thread by @IsraeliPM

PM Netanyahu: "I appeal to the UN Secretary General; Your refusal to evacuate UNIFIL soldiers has turned them into hostages of Hezbollah."

Full remarks >>
gov.il/en/pages/spoke…

PM Netanyahu:

"We are marking one year of the harsh war that was forced on us – the war of redemption against Iran's axis of evil, which has risen up to destroy us.

We are more determined than ever to ensure our future; we are more determined than ever to defeat our enemies.

In Lebanon: We eliminated Nasrallah and his senior personnel. Our heroic soldiers are destroying Hezbollah's weapons, command centers and terrorist tunnels.

They are fighting forcefully to return our residents in the north safely to their homes. We are not fighting the Lebanese people, we are fighting Iran's terrorist proxy Hezbollah, which has occupied Lebanon.

I would like to appeal directly to the UN Secretary General: The time has come for you to withdraw UNIFIL from Hezbollah strongholds and from the combat zones.

The IDF has requested this repeatedly and has met with repeated refusal, which has the effect of providing Hezbollah terrorists with human shields. Your refusal to evacuate UNIFIL soldiers has turned them into hostages of Hezbollah. This endangers both them and our soldiers.

We regret the harm to UNIFIL soldiers and we are doing our utmost to prevent such harm. But the simplest and most obvious way to ensure this is simply to withdraw them from the danger zone.

Mr. Secretary General, get the UNIFIL forces out of harm's way. It should be done right now, immediately.

Unfortunately, several European leaders are applying pressure in the wrong place. Instead of criticizing Israel, they need to direct their criticism at Hezbollah, which is using UNIFIL as a human shield, just as Hamas in Gaza is using UNRWA as a human shield.

In Gaza: We are continuing to operate deep in the territory in order to eliminate Hamas and bring about the release of our hostages. Our brave soldiers are now in the heart of Jabalya where they are dismantling Hamas's strongholds.

The 101 of our hostages who are in Gaza have always been our chief concern. We will do everything to bring them, all of them, back home, the living and the deceased.

In Judea and Samaria: Our forces are acting without respite on the ground and in the air to thwart terrorism. The terrorism there will not win because we will not allow it to.

In other arenas: We will continue to take action to ensure Israel's security.

There are moments during the war when one simple rule must be adhered to, and I request that all ministers adhere to this rule: Say little and do much.

With G-d's help, we will do this and we will succeed.

Citizens of Israel, have a good year and g'mar chatima tova to all of you.