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- Netanyahu to UN: "Withdraw UNIFIL soldiers from Lebanon"
Netanyahu to UN: "Withdraw UNIFIL soldiers from Lebanon"
The PM said that the refusal provides a human shield to Hezbollah terrorists • Netanyahu apologized for the harm to the forces, but clarified: "We are doing all we can to prevent this"
Prime Minister Netanyahu released a videotaped statement today (Sunday), in which he addressed UN Secretary-General Guterres, vehemently requesting the evacuation of UNIFIL peacekeeping soldiers from Lebanon, in light of several soldiers being injured in recent days.
"The refusal to evacuate them - endangers them, and also the lives of our soldiers, I appeal directly to the UN Secretary-General: Your refusal to evacuate UNIFIL soldiers makes them hostages of Hezbollah," he said.
In a statement, Netanyahu opened and said: "These days we mark one year to the tough war forced upon us - the uprising against the evil axis of Iran that came to annihilate us. We are always determined to secure our future, we are always determined to defeat our enemies. In Lebanon - we eliminated Nasrallah and his top ranks. Our heroic soldiers destroy the weapons, the commands, and Hezbollah's terror tunnels. They are fighting fiercely to return our northern residents safely to their homes. We are not fighting the Lebanese people, we are fighting Iran's terrorist arm - Hezbollah - which has taken over Lebanon," he said.
He addressed directly to the UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, and said: "The time has come to remove UNIFIL from Hezbollah's strongholds and war zones. The IDF has requested this over and over again, and has been repeatedly refused, a refusal that is clearly intended to give a human shield to Hezbollah terrorists. Your refusal to evacuate UNIFIL soldiers turns them into Hezbollah's hostages. This endangers both them and the lives of our soldiers."
The Prime Minister confirmed that UNIFIL soldiers are being injured and apologized: "We regret the harm to them and we are doing everything we can to prevent this injury. But the simple and necessary way to ensure this is to simply remove them from the danger zone". He added in English: "Mr. Secretary-General, remove the UNIFIL soldiers from the area, this needs to be done immediately, now", he clarified.
He continued and said: "Unfortunately, some European leaders are pressuring the wrong place. Instead of criticizing Israel - they should direct their criticism to Hezbollah, which uses UNIFIL as a human shield, just as Hamas in Gaza uses UNRWA as a human shield. Unfortunately, UNRWA also collaborates with Hamas."
Netanyahu also addressed the combat situation in Gaza, saying, "We continue to operate deep in the territory to eliminate Hamas and bring about the release of all our captives. Our brave soldiers are now in the heart of Jabaliya, where they are dismantling Hamas' strongholds. Our 101 captives who are in Gaza are always in our minds. We will do everything to bring them all home - the living and the fallen."
He also referred to other arenas where Israel is operating: "In Judea and Samaria - our forces are working tirelessly, both on land and in the air, to curb terror at its root. The terror there will not win - because we will not let it win. In other arenas - we will continue to act to ensure the security of Israel. There are moments during the war where one must adhere to a simple rule, and I ask all ministers to adhere to this rule - to talk little and do much".
He concluded the video by saying, "With God's help we will do and succeed," and wishing a good signature to the citizens of Israel.
Lebanon says it "condemns" Netanyahu's call to evacuate UN peacekeepers from border