\nNetanyahu began by recalling the situation that prevailed before the founding of the state\u2014a reality he noted still resonates today.
\n\u201cA prolonged, bitter, and fierce debate divided the Yishuv<\/em> (Jewish community in pre-state Israel) over the appropriate response to recurring Arab violence. The fundamental question came down to three words: restraint or response.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/reganews.co.il\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/speech2-1024x630.webp\")
\u201cNo one said: Let\u2019s surrender\u201d<\/strong> He continued, \u201cThe problem arose when a meaningful response was needed to deadly riots\u2014and none came. Blood was spilled without an answer. Terror spread\u2014met with helplessness. The achievements of Zionism faced real danger. That\u2019s what happened in Jaffa during the six months leading up to the state\u2019s founding.\u201d<\/p>\n He added that after long and frustrating months, \u201cthe Irgun decided: to respond. To go to battle so that Tel Aviv would not fall.\u201d<\/p>\n Netanyahu praised the underground fighters for their courage and determination. \u201cToday, we too are committed to complete victory\u201d<\/strong> \u201cWe will accomplish all the war\u2019s goals: we will dismantle Hamas rule in Gaza; we will bring our brothers and sisters\u2014the hostages\u2014home; we will eliminate any future threat from Gaza to Israel; and we will return the evacuated residents safely to their homes. We are doing this\u2014and we will complete it.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe Houthis have suffered heavy blows from us and the Americans\u201d<\/strong> \u201cTwo days after the war began, I said\u2014though no one believed me\u2014I said, \u2018We will change the face of the Middle East.\u2019 And that\u2019s exactly what we did\u2026 We shattered the Axis of Evil\u2014in Gaza, in Lebanon, in Syria, and in other places.\u201d<\/p>\n According to U.S. sources cited by Al Arabiya, more than 500 Houthi fighters and operatives, including senior commanders, have been killed in the Yemen operation since it began. Netanyahu commented: \u201cThere will be no civil war\u2014not in Israel\u201d<\/strong> He also spoke of Natan Panz, a gifted soccer player mentioned in the book “The Begin Boys”. \u201cThese are the ones who paved our path to independence. These are the liberators of Jaffa. Each of them has a place in the story of our national rebirth\u2014without exclusion, without slander. The Irgun fought here\u2014sometimes alongside the Haganah. No one should diminish another\u2019s role. And I stress: only when we fight together\u2014as true brothers\u2014do we win together. There will be no fratricidal war, and there will be no civil war\u2014not in Israel.\u201d<\/p>\n Netanyahu concluded: Watch the Prime Minister\u2019s speech [Hebrew]:<\/strong><\/p>\n
\nThe Prime Minister referred to Ze\u2019ev Jabotinsky, the Irgun\u2019s commander, who in 1936 warned against the illusion that Jews could survive in the Land of Israel solely under the protection of British bayonets.
\n\u201cWe must recognize that restraint versus response isn\u2019t a black-and-white matter. There are moments when wisdom demands restraint\u2014and others when action is required. A complex set of factors influences the right timing for taking action.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\u201cUnder the confident leadership of \u2018Gidi\u2019\u2014Amichai Paglin\u2014they charged wave after wave at the enemy\u2019s positions. They blasted holes through walls, advanced from post to post, and cleared the area. In the face of obstacles and resistance\u2014not one of them gave up. No one said, \u2018Let\u2019s surrender.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/reganews.co.il\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/speech3.jpg\")
\nThe Prime Minister then connected the historical battle to today\u2019s war.
\n\u201cThe underground fighters knew they were part of a historic battle. Just like them, our brave soldiers and commanders in Gaza, Lebanon, Syria, and beyond understand that this war\u2014this War of Rebirth\u2014is a historic campaign. And just as the battle to liberate Jaffa ended in total victory, so today we too are committed to the principle of total victory.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nNetanyahu also responded to criticism about the period leading up to the October 7 massacre and about the IDF\u2019s operations in Gaza after the 2005 disengagement.
\n\u201cIn those operations, we eliminated thousands of terrorists, struck commanders\u2014but did not enter on the ground, because there was neither national nor international legitimacy. After the horrific massacre of October 7, we had to go in and resolve this once and for all.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\u201cThe Houthis in Yemen have taken heavy blows from us and from our American allies.\u201d He added, \u201cAny attack against us will not be met with restraint. There will be a strong response\u2014and there has already been a very strong one. In Lebanon, in Gaza, everywhere\u2014for every attack, there will be a crushing response.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/reganews.co.il\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/speech4-1024x683.webp\")
\nConcluding his speech, Netanyahu remembered fighter Shmuel Ash, who fell in the Neve Tzedek neighborhood.
\n\u201cBefore his death, Shmuel told his father: \u2018I have a strong desire to live\u2014but what are my peaceful days worth when my people\u2019s very survival hangs in the balance?\u2019 That is a powerful statement.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\u201cNatan begged his commanders to let him join the battle for the Manshiyya neighborhood. He was wounded inside an armored vehicle in one of the alleyways, refused to leave his position, and fought until a second British shell ended his promising life.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\u201cNo one will break us. No one will defeat us. No one will stop us from doing what you expect\u2014and what the people of Israel, and generations to come, expect: to ensure the eternity of Israel. That is our mission. That is the mission of us all.\u201d<\/p>\n