On Monday, March 18, a meeting between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and a delegation from the American-Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) was held in Jerusalem at the Prime Minister's Office.
The delegation was led by AIPAC President Michael Tuchin. The Prime Minister addressed the ongoing hostilities in Gaza and responded to questions from delegation members.
The Prime Minister's Office provided the transcript of Netanyahu's speech at the meeting:
"We define victory as the destruction of Hamas' military and administrative capabilities, the return of abductees, and ensuring that Gaza will no longer pose a threat to Israel in the future. This is our current objective. Additionally, there is a northern front where we seek to ensure the safety of our citizens. Achieving this requires Hezbollah's retreat, which is also a crucial goal we will not abandon. By accomplishing these objectives, we will significantly weaken the Iranian terrorist axis responsible for the current situation. It's essential to understand that this is not just Israel's war but a battle for the future, uniting Israel, the US, and moderate Arab nations against Iran. Failure to achieve victory will lead to dire consequences for us, the Middle East, and beyond. This is a war between civilization and barbarism, between progress and regression. Despite recent portrayals in the US, there is widespread support among the Israeli people for our goals. Claims of division and extremism are false and harmful. We must remain united to secure Israel's future and ensure its security."
