Netanyahu upbeat on peace with Syria, Lebanon; says victory over Hamas will enable ‘dramatic expansion of Abraham Accords’

In the final passages of his speech to the UN, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu moves away from the Palestinian issue to other regional matters.

He says Israel’s “victories over the Iranian terror axis have opened up possibilities for peace that were unthinkable two years ago.”

On Syria, he says, “the very idea of peace between Israel and Syria seemed unimaginable” for decades. But today, “we have begun serious negotiations with the new Syrian government. I believe an agreement can be reached that respects Syria’s sovereignty and protects both Israeli security and the security of the minorities in the region, including the Druze minority.”

He refers to the Druze as Israeli Jews’ brothers in arms. “That’s why I couldn’t sit idly by, nor could Israel sit idly by, while the Druze were being slaughtered by jihadists [in Syria],” he says. “I instructed our forces to stop the massacre, which they promptly did.”

He says peace between Israel and Lebanon “is possible as well,” and calls on the Lebanese government to also begin direct negotiations with Israel. “I commend it for its declared aim to disarm Hezbollah, but we need more than words. If Lebanon takes genuine and sustained action to disarm Hezbollah, I’m sure we can achieve a sustainable peace,” he says. “Of course, until that happens, we will take whatever action we need to defend ourselves and to maintain the conditions of the ceasefire which was established in Lebanon.”

Further afield, he says, while “victory over Hezbollah has made peace possible with our two Arab neighbors in the north, victory over Hamas will make peace possible with nations throughout the Arab and Muslim world.”

He says it would enable “a dramatic extension and expansion of the historic Abraham Accords, which President Trump brokered between Arab leaders and myself five years ago.”

He notes the “encouraging words spoken here by the president of Indonesia” earlier this week, highlighting the imperative for Israel to have security. “This is the country with the largest Muslim population of all nations, and it’s also a sign of what could come.”

“Forward-looking Arabs and Muslim leaders know that cooperating with Israel will provide them with ground-breaking Israeli technologies, including in medicine and science, in agriculture and water, in defense, and AI, and so many other fields,” he says.

Now he moves on to Iran: “I believe that in the coming years, the Middle East will look dramatically different. Many of those who wage war on Israel today will be gone tomorrow. Brave peacemakers will take their place. And nowhere, nowhere will this be more true than in Iran. The long-suffering Iranian people will regain their freedom. They will make Iran great again. Our two ancient peoples, the people of Israel and the people of Iran, will restore a friendship that will benefit the entire world,” he predicts.

Concluding his address, Netanyahu says horrors such as those perpetrated by Hamas on October 7 had “happened countless times during the centuries of my people’s exile among the nations. Jewish blood was cheap. Jews were killed with impunity. We had to beg others to defend us. The rise of Israel did not mean that the attempts to destroy us would end. It meant that we could fight back against those attempts. And that is exactly what Israel has done,” he says.

“Our sons and daughters fought like lions. Our brave soldiers donned their uniforms and rushed into battle. They were armed with the dreams of the hundred generations of Jews who came before them: The dream of living as a free people in the land of Israel, our beloved homeland for more than 3,000 years. The dreams of living in our own independent state, the dream of having an army to defend ourselves, and the dream of being a light unto the nations, a beacon of progress, ingenuity, innovation, for the benefit of all humanity.

“On October 7,” Netanyahu concludes, “the enemies of Israel tried to extinguish that light. Two years later, the resolve of Israel and the strength of Israel burn brighter than ever. With God’s help, that strength and that resolve will lead us to a speedy victory and to a brilliant future of prosperity and peace.”