Netanyahu and Blinken press conference
(Video: GPO)
A couple of hours after touching down in Tel Aviv, U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken held a press conference with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday in which both men spoke extensively both of the cruelty of Hamas and the bravery of ordinary Israeli citizens, with the latter reaffirming Washington's iron-clad commitment to Israel's security.
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Going first, the Israeli premier referred to Blinken as "my good friend Tony", thanking him for their friendship. Shortly after beginning his speech in English, he reverted to Hebrew, when he stressed "stories of horror tell us all about them, and tales of bravery say everything about us."
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U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken in Tel Aviv
(Photo: Jacquelyn Martin / POOL / AFP)
Detailing the horrific stories of cruelty committed by the Islamist terrorists, Netanyahu spoke of how Hamas has gone out of its way to showcase the horrors, labeling it as "the celebration and glorification of evil", adding "Hamas is ISIS, and just as ISIS was crushed, so will Hamas be crushed."
Warning of "many difficult days ahead", Netanyahu, nevertheless, said good will triumph because of "moral clarity."
Speaking next, Secretary Blinken opened his remarks by saying, "I come to you not only as the American secretary of state, but also as a Jew," speaking of how his grandparents fled atrocities for their faith, his grandmother from Russian pogroms and his grandfather from multiple Nazi concentration camps.
Visibly humbled by the occasion, Blinken spoke of "a litany of brutality and inhumanity... babies slaughtered, bodies desecrated, young people burned alive, women raped, parents executed in front of their children, children in front of their parents," he ended detailing the horror by simply asking "How are we even to understand this, to digest this?"
He then shifted to the heroics of Israeli citizens, telling of "a grandfather who drove over an hour to a kibbutz under siege, armed only with a pistol and rescued his kids and grandkids," as well as "the mother who died shielding her teenage son with her body. Giving her life to save his, giving him life for a second time."
Reiterating President Joe Biden's promise that the United States will stand by Israel, he said "You may be strong enough, on your own, to defend yourselves, but as long as America exists, you will never ever have to. We will always be there by your side."
He further said that the Iron Dome missile defense system has been replenished and munitions delivered. Disregarding any concerns about U.S. support for Israel passing through Congress, he asserted, "I can tell you, there is overwhelming bipartisan support for Israel's security."
Drawing a clear line, he said "We know Hamas doesn't represent the Palestinian people, or their legitimate aspirations to live with equal measures of security, freedom, justice and opportunity."