Special to WorldTribune.com
Israel’s “will to live trumps our enemies’ desire for death,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Oct. 12.
In his address to the Knesset at the opening of its winter session, Netanyahu said that “after 100 years of terrorism and 100 years of attempts to destroy the Zionist enterprise, our enemies still have not learned.
“Suicide terrorism was not victorious over us in the 90s and 00s, and the terrorism of knives will not be victorious over us now. What always wins is the recognition that this is our home and our homeland. There is no way to stop the Zionist enterprise.”
Netanyahu also announced new laws that will increase the penalties for those throwing rocks and Molotov cocktails. The new laws come amid an increase in violence in an around the Temple Mount in Jerusalem.
“There are some who still say today that Jews have no connection to the Temple Mount….They say that Jews make the Mount dirty and impure. They repeat the lie over and over again that we want to destroy the Al-Aksa Mosque or change the status quo in the place. That is a total lie,” Netanyahu said.
Netanyahu has said on numerous occasions that Israel is intent on continuing the status quo at the Temple Mount and protecting the holy places of all religions.
The Israeli leader also called on Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas to denounce terrorism, following the lead of Netanyahu, who had earlier denounced hate crimes by Israelis against Arabs.
Abbas refuses to engage in talks with Israel because he is well aware that it would mean declaring an end to the conflict and ultimately recognizing Israel as the Jewish state, Netanyahu said.
“[The Palestinians’] refusal to recognize a Jewish State in any borders is and has always been the root of the conflict,” Netanyahu said.
Israeli Arabs must choose between inciting violence or coexistence and peace, Netanyahu told the Knesset.
“You cannot…enjoy all the rights and at the same time undermine the state. I ask you to choose the right way,” he said.
Netanyahu calls on Palestinian leader to renounce terrorism added by World Tribune on
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