I wish that my first time speaking to you was on happier terms.

Yet the tide of terror washing over my country has compelled me to speak to you this morning.

Today, the Security Council convened another meeting to discuss the growing tensions in my country, titled the situation in the Middle East.

However this is not what we need. What we do need is for this council to convene a meeting on the dangerous incitement led by President Abbas.

Only yesterday, Prime Minister Netanyahu expressed his willingness to meet with the Palestinian leadership and resume peace talks immediately, without preconditions, in order to bring calm to the region.

How did the Palestinians respond?

Did they grab the opportunity to engage in direct talks with Israel? No.

Did they offer to drive only 20 minutes between Ramallah and Jerusalem to meet? No.

Instead, they called on the Security Council to hold this emergency meeting.

Ever since President Abbas made his hate-filled speech and outrageously claimed, “The Jews desecrate the Temple Mount with their “dirty feet”. Dirty feet. We have seen a sharp increase, from the quote until today, in violence against Israeli civilians.

The tide of terror is washing over the entire nation spares no one: babies, children, men and women are being targeted every day.

Israelis are being stabbed, bombed, run over and stoned, yet this council remains silent. Just last night, the holy site, the tomb of Joseph, a Jewish holy site, was set on fire by a mob of Palestinians.

On Monday, a Palestinian boy attacked an Israeli boy who was riding his bike, stabbing him no less than 15 times. Let me repeat: 15 times!

The victim is still hospitalized in critical condition.

Ask yourselves, why would a 13-year-old boy decide to go on a stabbing spree and try to take another boy’s life?

How come? We all have children.The answer is that such acts of terror do not occur in a vacuum.

When a Palestinian child returns from school and opens the Televeision, he doesn’t see Barney or Donald Duck, he sees murderers portrayed as heroes. When he opens a textbook, he doesn’t learn about math and science, he’s being taught to hate.

[Holds up picture] This picture you see here is an example of the kind of messages that Palestinian children are being exposed to day in and day out. In school, after school.

The picture gives children elaborate instructions on how to stab a Jew.

 We talk about a lot about incitement – here you see what Palestinian incitement looks like.

The picture is being taught in middle schools, in high schools, in elementary schools.

Instead of educating about peace and tolerance, the Palestinian leadership is brainwashing children with incitement and hate.

Palestinian leaders have established an incubator to raise children as terrorists.

Whoever avoids direct negotiations is looking for an escape hatch, and Abbas’s favorite kind of escape, is to spread slanderous lies about the situation on the Temple Mount, especially about the status quo.

However, only two weeks ago we were all here: Prime Minister Netanyahu stood here at the General Assembly of the UN and repeated his commitment once again to maintaining the status quo.

Let me make it clear. Israel will not agree to any international presence on the Temple Mount. Any such intervention would violate the decades-long status quo.  

What Abbas is trying to do comes as no surprise.

History has shown us that every time a Palestinian leader wanted to avoid taking a difficult decision; he filled the void with incitement and false accusations and lies regarding the Temple Mount.

To sum up, I want to say to the international community and to the Security Council:

If you are serious about promoting peace,

If you are truly committed to advancing co-existence in our region.

Make a clear statement against the incitement that fuels terror.

Support direct negotiations.

Just as we did with Egypt, just as we did with Jordan; this is the only way to bring calm to the region."