Good evening. Today, Israel announced a cease-fire, with the goal of restoring calm and stability to the region.
For too long, the people of Israel have lived under constant rocket attacks. An entire generation of Israeli children has grown up shuttling between classrooms and bomb shelters. No nation, no people, no government would accept this reality. Israel is no exception.
Over the past week, Israel’s military operation had one goal and one goal only: to restore peace and quiet to the people of Israel by targeting terrorists and their means to attack us.
The operation achieved its stated goals. Israel dealt Hamas and the other terrorist organizations in Gaza a series of crippling blows. Israel attacked more than 1,500 military targets. Command and control centers, terror supply lines, long-range rocket arsenals, and weapons stores have been destroyed.
Israel targeted senior terrorists, including Hamas' most senior military chief – a mass murderer with the blood of many innocents on his hands.
Over the past week, the true face of Hamas was exposed once again. Hamas fired more than 1,300 rockets into the heart of Israeli cities, homes, and schools. It attacked Israeli civilians by hiding behind Palestinian civilians. It used Palestinian residential neighborhoods to fire rockets into Israeli residential neighborhoods – and Palestinian schools to fire rockets into Israeli schools.
This is a double war crime.
It is time for the Security Council to clearly condemn those UN Member States that continue to fund, arm, and train the terrorists of Gaza. Iran stands chief among those nations. Just today, Ali Larijani, the speaker of the Iranian parliament publicly boasted that his country is arming the terrorists of Gaza. He said, (and I quote) "We are honored to be providing Palestinian people with military aid.”
Palestinian terrorists also confirm that their weapons come from Iran. The head of Islamic Jihad said just yesterday that (and I quote) “the entire world knows that Iran is the main source of our weapons.”
These are the weapons that terrorists are now using against our people.
Israel hopes that lasting calm will prevail throughout the region, one that will provide years of quiet, stability, and security. However, we will not hesitate to do whatever it takes to remove the threat of Hamas. Those who target the State of Israel will pay a very heavy price.