Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Saturday that a new agreement between Israel and Lebanon strengthens both countries while weakening Iran and Hezbollah.
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Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addresses reporters at the Prime Minister’s Office in Jerusalem, June. Credit: Olivier Fitoussi
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addresses reporters at the Prime Minister’s Office in Jerusalem, June. Credit: Olivier Fitoussi
Speaking to reporters, Netanyahu said the Israeli military has destroyed about 90 percent of Hezbollah’s rocket and missile stockpiles, killed Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah and commanders of the Radwan Force, and killed more than 9,000 Hezbollah militants since the start of the war, including more than 200 in the past two weeks.
He said Israel controls several points in southern Lebanon, including Beaufort Castle, Al-Awida Ridge and the area around the Shiite village of Bint Jbeil. Netanyahu added that Israel still needs to address Hezbollah’s drone capabilities, which he described as a “global problem.”
The prime minister also said the government will allocate 20 billion shekels (about $6.5 billion) for reconstruction and development in northern Israel, and that restoring security to residents in the region remains a priority.
On foreign policy, Netanyahu said he plans to send a delegation to the United States to outline Israel’s position on an emerging U.S.-Iran deal, with a focus on Iran’s nuclear program.
“We weren’t party to the agreement,” he said, “but we have interests and we will express them.”
Turning to domestic politics, Netanyahu said he aims to build a broad national coalition after what he described as “removing the Iranian existential threat.” He said he would not boycott political actors but would not form a government dependent on Arab parties.
He said any party could join a future government if it accepts core principles including recognition of Israel as a Jewish nation-state, protection of individual rights, a free-market economy and strengthened security independence.
Netanyahu also claimed arrests carried out by the Israel Police in yeshivas harm efforts to enlist the ultra-Orthodox. In practice, police do not enter yeshivas to arrest draft dodgers. “Yeshivas are sending me a message saying: when you send people into the yeshivas, no one enlists,” he said. “If I told you that in Europe the police are sent into yeshivas and take young men who are studying Torah and put them in prison – wouldn’t you be shocked?”