Netanyahu joins Erez Battalion soldiers in scroll of Esther reading

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited the positions of the Erez Battalion of the military police, accompanied by Chief of Staff Tzahi Braverman, Military Secretary Major General Avi Gil, Chief of the IDF Personnel Department Major General Yaniv Asor, Chief of Military Police Major General Avichai Mivar, and Erez Battalion Commander Lieutenant Colonel Itzik Ben-Yair.

The Prime Minister's Office press service released a photograph showing Benjamin Netanyahu reading the Scroll of Esther with the soldiers.

Netanyahu expressed gratitude to the fighters for their service, acknowledging the risks they face. "I am impressed by your work, especially given the increasingly complex tasks assigned to you," he said.

"Today, as we celebrate the holiday of Purim, we are reminded of events over 2000 years ago in ancient Persia, where an antisemitic tyrant, Haman, sought to annihilate the Jewish people," Netanyahu stated.

"Similarly, in modern Persia, the Iranian regime seeks to exterminate the Jewish state. We have already witnessed the actions of one of this regime's satellites. On October 7, Hamas committed what President Biden termed the greatest evil. Absolute evil cannot be defeated by ignoring it in Rafah. Just as in ancient times, we must unite, dream, and triumph. We will enter Rafah and achieve complete victory. We defeated Haman; we will defeat Sinwar," the Prime Minister vowed.