Full speech by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the US Congress. No waste!

“We find ourselves today at a crossroads in history. Our world is in crisis. In the Middle East, Iran's axis of terror pits the United States, Israel, and our Arab friends against one another. This is not a clash of civilizations. It is a clash between barbarism and civilization. It is a clash between those who glorify death and those who sanctify life.

‎For the forces of civilization to triumph, the United States and Israel must remain united. Because when we are together something very simple happens. We won. They lose.

‎And my friends, today I came to assure you one thing: we will win.

‎Ladies and gentlemen,

‎Like December 7, 1941 and September 11, 2001, October 7 is a day that will forever live in infamy.

‎It was the Jewish holiday of Simchat Torah. It started out as a perfect day. There is no cloud in the sky. Thousands of young Israelis celebrated at an open-air music festival. And suddenly, at 6:29 am, while children were still fast asleep in their beds in the cities and kibbutzim near Gaza, heaven suddenly became hell. Three thousand Hamas terrorists stormed Israel. They massacred 1.200 people from 41 countries, including 39 Americans. Proportionally, compared to the size of our population, that's like 20 11/255s in one day. And these monsters raped women, beheaded men, burned babies alive, killed parents in front of their children and children in front of their parents. They dragged XNUMX people, dead or alive, into the dark dungeons of Gaza.

‎Israel has already brought home 135 of these hostages, including seven who were freed in daring rescue operations. One of those freed hostages, Noa Argamani, is here in the gallery, sitting near my wife Sara.

‎On the morning of October 7, the entire world saw Noa's look of despair when she was violently kidnapped in Gaza on the back of a motorcycle. I met Liora, Noa's mother, a few months ago. She was dying of cancer. She told me: “Prime Minister, I have one last wish. I wish to hug my daughter Noa for the last time before she dies.”

‎Two months ago, I authorized an impressive commando rescue operation. Our Special Forces, including a heroic officer named Arnon Zmora, who fell in this battle, rescued Noa and three other hostages.

‎I think it's one of the most touching things, when Noa was reunited with her mother, Liora, and her mother's last wish came true.

‎Noa, we are very excited to have you with us today. Thank you.

‎Many hostage families are also here with us today, including Eliyahu Bibas. Eliyahu Bibas is the grandfather of those two beautiful red-haired children, the Bibas children, little children. And they were taken hostage along with his mother and Eliyahu's son. The entire family was taken hostage. Two beautiful red-haired children taken hostage. What monsters.

‎And with us also is Iris Haim, whose son Yotam bravely escaped Hamas captivity with two other Israelis, and tragically died while returning to our lines.

‎We also have with us the families of the American hostages. They are here.

‎The pain these families have endured is beyond words. I met with them yesterday and promised them this. I will not rest until all your loved ones are home. All of them.

‎As we speak, we are actively engaged in intense efforts to secure his release, and I am confident that these efforts can be successful. Some of them are taking place right now.

‎I want to thank the president Biden for their tireless efforts on behalf of the hostages and also for their efforts on behalf of the hostages' families.

‎I thank President Biden for his sincere support for Israel after the savage attack on October 7. He rightly called Hamas “pure evil.” He sent two aircraft carriers to the Middle East to deter a broader war. And he came to Israel to be with us during our darkest hour, a visit that will never be forgotten.

‎President Biden and I have known each other for more than forty years. I want to thank him for half a century of friendship with Israel and for being, as he says, a proud Zionist. In fact, he says, he is a proud Irish-American Zionist.

‎My friends, for more than nine months, Israel's soldiers have demonstrated boundless courage.

‎Today we are joined by Lieutenant Avichail Reuven. Avichail is an officer in the Israeli paratroopers. His family immigrated to Israel from Ethiopia. In the early hours of October 7, Avichail heard the news of the bloody Hamas attack. He put on his uniform, grabbed his rifle, but he didn't have a car. So he ran eight miles to the front of Gaza to defend the people from him. You heard right. He ran eight miles, got to the front lines, killed many terrorists, and saved many, many lives. Avichail, we all honor your remarkable heroism.

‎Another Israeli is here with us today. He is standing right next to Avichail. This is Senior Sergeant Ashraf al Bahiri. Ashraf is a Bedouin soldier from the Israeli Muslim community of Rahat. On October 7, Ashraf also killed many terrorists. First, he defended his comrades at the military base and then rushed to defend neighboring communities, including the devastated Kibbutz Be'eri community.

‎Like Ashraf, Muslim IDF soldiers fought alongside their Jewish, Druze, Christian and other comrades-in-arms with tremendous bravery.

‎A third hero, Lieutenant Asa Sofer [ph], is also here with us. Asa fought as an officer in the tank corps and was wounded in battle. He was wounded in battle while protecting his fellow soldiers from a grenade. He lost his right arm and vision in his left eye. He is recovering and, incredibly, before long, Asa will soon return to active duty as a tank company commander.

‎I just learned that there is a fourth hero here: Lieutenant Yonatan, Jonathan Ben Hamo (ph), who lost a leg in Gaza and continued fighting.

‎My friends, these are the soldiers of Israel: untamed, undaunted and fearless.

‎As the Bible says, “עם כלביא יקום”—they will rise up like lions. They have risen up like lions, the lions of Judah, the lions of Israel.

‎Ladies and gentlemen,

‎The men and women of the IDF come from all corners of Israeli society, from all ethnicities, from all colors, from all faiths, from the left and the right, religious and secular. All are imbued with the indomitable spirit of the Maccabees, the legendary Jewish warriors of ancient times.

‎Today Yechiel Leiter, the father of one of those Maccabees, is with us. Yehiel's father escaped the Holocaust and found refuge in the United States. As a young man, Yechiel moved to Israel and raised a family of eight children. He named his eldest son Moshe in honor of his late father. Moshe became an exemplary officer in one of our elite commando units. He served with distinction for two decades while raising six beautiful children.

‎On October 7, Moshe volunteered to return to combat. Four weeks later, he was killed when a booby-trap mine exploded in a tunnel shaft right next to a mosque. At his son's funeral, Yechiel said: "If the State of Israel had not been established after the Holocaust, the image etched in our collective memory would have been the photograph of that helpless Jewish child in the Warsaw Ghetto with his hands aloft". with Nazi rifles pointed at them, but because of the birth of Israel,” Yechiel continued, “because of the courage of soldiers like my son Moshe, the Jewish people are no longer defenseless against our enemies.”

‎Yechiel, please rise so we can honor the sacrifice of your son. And I promise you and all the grieving families of Israel, some of whom are in this room today, that the sacrifice of your loved ones will not be in vain. It will not be in vain because for Israel, “never again” must never be an empty promise. It must always remain a sacred vow. And after October 7, “never again” is now.

‎My friends,

‎Defeating our brutal enemies requires both courage and clarity. Clarity begins with knowing the difference between good and evil. However, many anti-Israel protesters choose to support evil. They are with Hamas. They are alongside rapists and murderers. They are with the people who entered the kibbutzim, in a house, the parents hid the children, the two babies, in the attic, in a secret attic. They murdered the family, the parents, found the secret latch to the hidden attic, and then murdered the babies. These protesters support them. They should be ashamed of themselves.

‎They refuse to make a simple distinction between those who attack terrorists and those who attack civilians, between the democratic State of Israel and the terrorist thugs of Hamas. We recently learned from the US Director of National Intelligence that Iran is financing and promoting anti-Israel protests in the United States. They want to disrupt America. So these protesters burned American flags even on the 4th of July. And I want to salute the fraternity brothers at the University of North Carolina who protected the American flag, protected the American flag against these anti-Israel protesters.

‎As far as we know, Iran is funding the anti-Israel protests taking place right now in front of this building (not many, but they are there) and throughout the city. Well, I have a message for these protesters: when the tyrants of Tehran, who hang homosexuals from cranes and murder women for not covering their hair, praise, promote and finance you, you have officially become Iran's useful idiots.

‎It's amazing, absolutely amazing. Some of these protesters hold signs proclaiming "Gays for Gaza." They could also hold signs that say “Chickens for KFC.”

‎These protesters chant “From the river to the sea.” But many have no idea what river and what sea they are talking about. Not only do they get an F in geography, but they also get an F in history. They call Israel a colonialist state. Don't you know that the Land of Israel is where Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob prayed, where Isaiah and Jeremiah preached, and where David and Solomon ruled?

‎For almost four thousand years, the land of Israel has been the homeland of the Jewish people. It has always been our home; It will always be our home.

‎It's not just the campus protesters who are wrong. They are also the people who run those campuses. Eighty years after the Holocaust, the presidents of Harvard, Penn, and I, I am ashamed to say, my alma mater, MIT, did not dare to condemn calls for the genocide of the Jews. Do you remember what they said? They said it depends on the context. Well, let me give these bewildered academics some context.

‎Anti-Semitism is the oldest hatred in the world. For centuries, the massacre of Jews was always preceded by wild accusations. They accused us of everything from poisoning wells to spreading plagues to using the blood of slaughtered children to bake Passover matzot. These absurd anti-Semitic lies led to persecution, mass murder, and ultimately the worst genocide in history, the Holocaust.

‎Now, just as malicious lies were hurled against the Jewish people for centuries, malicious lies are now being hurled against the Jewish State. No no. Don't clap. Hear. The outrageous smears painting Israel as racist and genocidal aim to delegitimize Israel, demonize the Jewish State, and demonize Jews everywhere. And no wonder, no wonder we have witnessed an egregious rise in anti-Semitism in the United States and around the world.

‎My friends,

‎Whenever and wherever we see the scourge of anti-Semitism, we must condemn it unequivocally and combat it resolutely, without exception.

‎And don't be fooled when blood libels against the Jewish State come from people who wear elegant silk robes and speak loftily about law and justice.

‎Here is an example: the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court has shamefully accused Israel of deliberately starving the people of Gaza. This is complete nonsense. It's a complete invention. Israel has allowed more than 40.000 aid trucks to enter Gaza. That's half a million tons of food, and more than 3.000 calories for every man, woman and child in Gaza. If there are Palestinians in Gaza who are not getting enough food, it is not because Israel is blocking them, but because Hamas is robbing them.

‎So much for that lie, but here's another one: the ICC prosecutor accuses Israel of deliberately attacking civilians. What the hell are you talking about on God's green earth? The IDF has dropped millions of leaflets, sent millions of text messages, and made hundreds of thousands of phone calls to get Palestinian civilians out of harm's way. But at the same time, Hamas does everything in its power to endanger Palestinian civilians. They fire rockets from schools, hospitals, mosques. They even shoot their own people when they try to leave the war zone. A senior Hamas official, Fathi Hamad, boasted – Listen to this – he boasted that Palestinian women and children stood out as human shields. His words: “they stand out like human shields.” What monstrous evil!

‎For Israel, every civilian death is a tragedy. For Hamas, it is a strategy. In reality they want Palestinian civilians killed, so that Israel will be defamed in the international media and pressured to end the war before it wins it.

‎This would allow Hamas to survive one more day and, as promised, carry out October 7 again and again and again. Well, I want to assure you that no matter how much pressure you apply, I will never allow that to happen.

‎The vast majority of Americans have not fallen for this Hamas propaganda. They continue to support Israel and I want to say: thank you America and thank you to the senators and members of the House of Representatives who continue to support us, continue to support Israel, continue to support the truth and see beyond the lies.

‎But as for the minority who may have fallen for the Hamas scam, I suggest they listen to Colonel John Spencer. John Spencer is head of urban warfare studies at West Point. He studied all the important urban conflicts, he was going to say about modern history, he corrected me. No. In history.

‎Israel, he said, has implemented more precautions to prevent harm to civilians than any military in history and beyond what international law requires.

‎That's why, despite all the lies we've heard, the war in Gaza has one of the lowest combatant-to-noncombatant casualty ratios in the history of urban warfare. And you want to know where it is lowest in Gaza? It is lower in Rafah. In Rafá. Do you remember what so many people said? If Israel enters Rafah, there will be thousands, perhaps even tens of thousands of civilians killed. Well, last week I went to Rafah. I visited our troops as they finished fighting the remaining Hamas terrorist battalions. I asked the commander: "How many terrorists did you eliminate in Rafah?" He gave me an exact number: 1.203. I asked him, "How many civilians died?" He said: “Prime Minister, virtually none. With the exception of a single incident, in which shrapnel from a bomb hit a Hamas weapons depot and unintentionally killed two dozen people, the answer is virtually none.” You want to know why? Because Israel took civilians out of harm's way, something people said we could never do, but we did.

‎These heroes here today, the heroic soldiers of Israel, should not be condemned for how they are conducting the war in Gaza. They should be praised for it.

‎I want to thank all of you here today who have vigorously opposed the ICC's false accusations and stood up for the truth. These lies are not just slander. They are downright dangerous. The ICC is trying to put shackles on Israel's hands and prevent us from defending ourselves. And if Israel's hands are tied, the United States will be next. I'll tell you what else comes next. The ability of all democracies to fight terrorism will be at risk. That is what is at stake. So let me assure you that the hands of the Jewish State will never be handcuffed. Israel will always defend itself.

‎My friends,

‎In the Middle East, Iran is practically behind all the terrorism, all the turmoil, all the chaos, all the killing. And that shouldn't surprise us. When he founded the Islamic Republic, Ayatollah Khomeini promised: “We will export our revolution to the entire world. We will export the Islamic revolution to the entire world.” Now, ask yourself: which country ultimately stands in the way of Iran's manic plans to impose radical Islam on the world? And the answer is clear: it is the United States, the guardian of Western civilization and the greatest power in the world. That is why Iran sees the United States as its greatest enemy.

‎Last month I heard a revealing comment, ostensibly about the war in Gaza, but about something else. It came from the foreign minister of Iran's proxy, Hezbollah, and said the following: “This is not a war with Israel. Israel,” he said, “is simply a tool. The main war, the real war, is with the United States.”

‎Iran's regime has been fighting the United States since the moment it came to power. In 1979, he stormed the American embassy and held dozens of Americans hostage for 444 days. Since then, Iran's terrorist proxies have attacked the United States in the Middle East and beyond. In Beirut, 241 American soldiers were killed. In Africa, American embassies were bombed. In Iraq, they supplied explosives to maim and kill thousands of American soldiers. In the United States, they actually sent death squads. They sent death squads here to assassinate a former secretary of state and a former national security adviser. And as we recently learned, they even blatantly threatened to assassinate President Trump.

‎But Iran understands that to truly challenge the United States, it must first conquer the Middle East. And to do this it uses its many representatives, including the Houthis, Hezbollah and Hamas. Yet in the heart of the Middle East, standing in Iran's way, is a proud pro-American democracy: my country, the State of Israel.

‎That is why the mobs in Tehran chant “Death to Israel” before chanting “Death to America.” For Iran, Israel is first and the United States is next. So when Israel fights Hamas, we fight Iran. When we fight Hezbollah, we are fighting Iran. When we fight the Houthis, we are fighting Iran. And when we fight Iran, we are fighting the most radical and murderous enemy of the United States of America.

‎And one more thing. When Israel acts to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons, nuclear weapons that could destroy Israel and threaten every American city, every city you come from, we are not just protecting ourselves. We are protecting you.

‎My friends,

‎If you remember one thing, one thing from this speech, remember this: our enemies are your enemies, our fight is your fight and our victory will be your victory.

‎Ladies and gentlemen,

‎That victory is in sight. Israel's defeat of Hamas will be a serious blow to Iran's axis of terror. Another part of that axis, Hezbollah, attacked Israel on October 8, a day after the Hamas attack. It has launched thousands of missiles and drones against us. 80.000 of our citizens in northern Israel evacuated their homes, effectively becoming refugees in their own land. We are committed to returning them home. We prefer to achieve it diplomatically. But let me be clear: Israel will do whatever is necessary to restore security to our northern border and return our people safely to their homes.

‎Last Friday, a third Iranian proxy, the Houthis, attacked Tel Aviv with a deadly drone. It exploded a few hundred meters from the American consulate, killing one person and injuring nine. On Saturday I authorized a rapid response to that attack.

‎All our enemies should know this. Those who attack Israel will pay a very high price.

‎And as we defend ourselves on all fronts, I know that the United States has our back. And I thank you. All sides of the hallway. Thank you.

‎My friends,

‎For decades, the United States has provided Israel with generous military assistance, and a grateful Israel has provided critical intelligence that saved many lives. We have jointly developed some of the most sophisticated weapons on Earth. I choose my words carefully: we have jointly developed some of the most sophisticated weapons on Earth, helping to protect both of our countries. And we also help keep American troops in the air while protecting our shared interests in the Middle East.

‎I deeply appreciate the support of the United States, even in this current war. But this is an exceptional moment. Rapid U.S. military assistance can dramatically accelerate the end of the war in Gaza and help prevent a broader war in the Middle East.

‎In World War II, as Britain fought on the front lines of civilization, Winston Churchill appealed to Americans with these famous words: "Give us the tools and we will finish the job." Today, as Israel fights on the front lines of civilization, I too call on the United States: "Give us the tools faster and we will finish the job faster."

‎My dear friends,

‎The war in Gaza could end tomorrow if Hamas surrenders, disarms and returns all hostages. But if they don't, Israel will fight until we destroy the military capabilities of Hamas and its government in Gaza and bring all our hostages home.

‎That is what total victory means, and we will settle for nothing less.

‎The day after we defeat Hamas, a new Gaza may emerge. My vision for that day is of a demilitarized and deradicalized Gaza. Israel is not seeking to resettle Gaza. But for the foreseeable future, we must maintain absolute security control there to prevent the resurgence of terrorism and ensure that Gaza never again poses a threat to Israel.

‎Gaza should have a civilian administration led by Palestinians who do not seek to destroy Israel. That's not too much to ask. It is something fundamental that we have the right to demand and receive.

‎A new generation of Palestinians must no longer be taught to hate the Jews but to live in peace with us. Those twin words, demilitarization and deradicalization, those two concepts were applied to Germany and Japan after World War II, and that led to decades of peace, prosperity and security.

‎Following our victory, with the help of regional partners, the demilitarization and deradicalization of Gaza can also lead to a future of security, prosperity and peace. That is my vision for Gaza.

‎Now this is my vision for the Middle East in general. It is also partly determined by what we saw after World War II. After that war, the United States forged a security alliance in Europe to counter the growing Soviet threat. Likewise, the United States and Israel today can forge a Middle East security alliance to counter the growing Iranian theater.

‎All countries that are at peace with Israel and all those countries that will make peace with Israel should be invited to join this alliance. We saw a glimpse of that potential alliance on April 14. Led by the United States, more than half a dozen nations worked alongside Israel to help neutralize hundreds of missiles and drones launched by Iran against us.

‎Thank you, President Biden, for uniting that coalition.

‎The new alliance I envision would be a natural extension of the groundbreaking Abraham Accords. These Agreements allowed peace to be forged between Israel and four Arab countries, and had the support of both Republicans and Democrats.

‎I have a name for this new alliance. I think we should call it: The Abraham Alliance.

‎I want to thank President Trump for his leadership in negotiating the historic Abraham Accords. Like Americans, Israelis were relieved that President Trump emerged safely from that cowardly attack on him, cowardly attack on American democracy. There is no place for political violence in democracies.

‎I also want to thank President Trump for everything he did for Israel, from recognizing Israel's sovereignty over the Golan Heights to standing up to Iran's aggression, recognizing Jerusalem as our capital, and moving the American embassy there. That is Jerusalem, our eternal capital that will never again be divided.

‎My dear friends, Democrats and Republicans,

‎Despite these turbulent times, I am hopeful for the future. I have hope in Israel because my people, the Jewish people, rose from the depths of hell, dispossession and genocide, and against all odds we restored our sovereignty in our ancient homeland, we built a powerful and vibrant democracy, a democracy that pushes the limits of innovation for the betterment of all humanity.

‎I have hope for America because I have hope for Americans. I know how much the people of this country have sacrificed to defend freedom. America will continue to be a force of light and good in a dark and dangerous world. For free people around the world, America remains the beacon of freedom that its extraordinary founders envisioned back in 1776.

‎Working together, I am confident that our two nations will defeat the tyrants and terrorists who threaten us both. As Prime Minister of Israel, I promise you this: no matter how long it takes, no matter how difficult the road ahead, Israel will not give in. Israel will not bow down. We will defend our land. We will defend our people. We will fight until we achieve victory. Victory of freedom over tyranny, victory of life over death, victory of good over evil. “That is our solemn commitment.”