From the Liveblog of
Saturday, January 13, 2024
Netanyahu: Israel ‘on the path to victory’ in war against Hamas
Sam Sokol is the Times of Israel's political correspondent. He was previously a reporter for the Jerusalem Post, Jewish Telegraphic Agency and Haaretz. He is the author of "Putin’s Hybrid War and the Jews"
At a press conference held at the Kirya military headquarters in Tel Aviv, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu insists “no one will stop” Israel in the war against Hamas.
“What happened on October 7 will not happen again,” the premier pledges, referring to the devastating onslaught by the Gaza-ruling terror group three months ago.
Netanyahu asserts that the update to the 2024 budget set to be voted on tomorrow, which has been sharply criticized, “will enable the continuation of the war.”
“We are on the path to victory and we will not stop until we achieve victory,” he says. “We will not compromise and we will not stop.”
Netanyahu says he told visiting US Secretary of State Antony Blinken earlier this week, “This is not only our war, this is also your war.”
The prime minister also says the “hypocritical attack is a moral low in the history of nations,” referring to South Africa’s genocide allegations against Israel at the International Court of Justice in The Hague.
“The supporters of the new Nazis dare to accuse us of genocide,” he says, accusing Pretoria of supporting “baby-burners” while Israel is “fighting an unprecedentedly moral and just war against the monsters of Hamas – the new Nazis.”
“Antisemitism is still alive, but the status of the Jewish people has changed — we have a state, an army and heroic soldiers who protect our people,” he says.
