Netanyahu: We must form strong, national, right-wing government, remove existential threat from Iran

Full text of the speech by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, pledging to establish a strong, right-wing, national government after Israel’s October 27 elections.

Thank you. Thank you, Likud members, activists… members of the outstanding Likud list. And thank you, members of the government.

With courageous decisions, together with an Israeli public that stood firm, and thanks to our heroic soldiers, we worked wonders that changed the face of the Middle East. We eliminated Deif, Haniyeh, Sinwar, Nasrallah, Khamenei. We established security zones deep inside Gaza, in Lebanon, in Syria. We removed an immediate existential threat that hung over us, the danger of immediate destruction. We struck the Iranian regime and brought it to the edge of the abyss. Iran is weaker than ever, Israel is stronger than ever.

Thanks to you. Thanks to our heroic soldiers. Thanks to our steadfast people. Thanks to the brave decisions we took.

And still, my friends, still I say to you — this is not yet over. Because as long as that fanatical regime exists, a regime that has inscribed on its banner, that has defined the very purpose of its existence as the destruction of ours, it will try again to annihilate us. And it is within our power, together with our wonderful friend President Trump, to remove this threat once and for all.

Friends, (sings) Who will not fear, who will not fear.

Friends, this is only the beginning. Only the beginning.

We are still waiting for the final results, which we will have over the next day or two, God willing.

Two things have become clear here. The first is unequivocal: Likud is the largest party in Israel.

Do you remember how the propaganda channels engineered public consciousness? Likud on 18 seats, 19 seats. They knew the whole time that it was a lie. They were trying to demoralize you from coming to the ballot box. That is what went on here. Well, the first thing that has become clear, unequivocally, is that Likud is the biggest party in Israel. There is no disputing it.

And the second thing that has become clear… is that the right-wing bloc has a clear, decisive majority among the Zionist public, among the Jewish public and all those who support the Jewish state. That is what has become clear. A decisive majority.

And therefore I said, and I say again, that we must form a strong, national, right-wing government. That is what must be done.

It is simply forbidden to endanger Israel and form a government that rests on anti-Zionist Arab parties. Parties that oppose our very existence, that see Hamas as a charitable organization, that call our soldiers war criminals.

[Crowd: “Shame! Shame!”]

It is indeed a disgrace. And I ask: what have we come to? What have we come to, that politicians and media outlets talk about this? Normalize it? Justify it?

How can you talk about an alliance of those who serve while you join hands with those who attack the very people who serve, the soldiers of the IDF? People who not only fail to serve the state — they serve the state’s enemies. That is exactly what we have here. This is the Islamic Movement, this is the Joint List, this is Balad — anti-Zionist parties that still advocate the elimination of the state. And you talk about an alliance of those who serve — with them? A shame and a disgrace, precisely that.

This thing must not be allowed to take shape. The Zionist majority in the State of Israel, the Jewish and Zionist majority, must pull itself together and unite. Only this way will we secure Israel’s future.

I want to thank the millions of Israeli citizens who placed their trust in us, who placed their trust in me, who rejected with disgust the attempt to bring down a right-wing government through criminal political investigations.

I want to thank, from the bottom of my heart, our heroic soldiers, the wounded in body and in spirit — and to embrace the bereaved families, my brothers and sisters.

What strength of spirit I have seen. I was at the Kotel. And before that I saw a soldier who was wounded in the head, in the brain, and who went through the whole ordeal of rehabilitation. It is unbelievable, how much more strength of spirit there is. This was a young man who almost died, and now he is alive, and trying to hold on to life.

And when I came to the Kotel, I saw something that moved me perhaps more than anything else I have seen in my life. I saw a young man sitting there in a wheelchair, stricken, his nerves gone, and he has a tablet, and he is writing the letters with his nose. The handwriting of a genius. I know what the handwriting of a genius looks like, because I have seen it in my life. The handwriting of a genius. And he says: “I love the soldiers of the IDF, so let me serve. Give me friends. Give me something, so that I have a life.” And I embraced him, and I kissed him — to life.

And afterwards I went and placed a note in the Western Wall, for Israel’s victory, for the victory of our soldiers.

I want to tell you: Israel stands before a historic, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, with our partner President Trump, to remove the existential threat from Iran once and for all. We must not let any extraneous considerations divert us from this sacred mission.

I want to take this opportunity also to thank my loyal partners in the coalition. They all served faithfully. They stood firm in the face of great challenges, at home and abroad.

I want to thank my beloved, dear wife Sara, and my beloved sons Yair and Avner, who face endless smears at home and threats to their very lives from Israel’s enemies abroad.

And finally, I want to thank the creator of the world, who gives me the strength to go on acting for the eternity of Israel, for our beloved people and our beloved, one and only country.

Let me say to you in closing, citizens of Israel: We prevailed over our enemies, and together we will prevail over them in the future too.