Live Breathe and Die

Whether you agree or disagree with the actions of Israel in recent days, you should read Prime Minister Olmert’s speech from the other day.

If you agree with Israel’s actions, you will find it a refreshing reminder of the core tenets of democracy, and if you are opposed, you will find it enlightening.  The mainstream media will not, in large numbers, publish the content of this important speech, so I am providing the whole speech, unedited.

Madam Speaker,
Ladies and gentlemen,
Members of Knesset,

At the outset, I offer condolences, on my behalf and on behalf of the government, the Knesset and the entire nation, to the families of the victims – both civilian and IDF.  I also send best wishes for recovery to the wounded, and a huge embrace for the families of those kidnapped and the boys themselves.

 Over the past few weeks, our enemies have challenged the sovereignty of the State of Israel and the safety of its residents – first in the southern sector, then on the northern border, and deeper into the home front.

Israel did not seek these confrontations.  On the contrary.  We have done a lot to prevent them.  We returned to the borders of the State of Israel, recognized by the entire international community.  There were those who misconstrued our desire for peace – for us and our neighbors – as a sign of frailty.  Our enemies misinterpreted our willingness to exercise restraint as a sign of weakness. 
They were wrong!

Madam Speaker, Members of Knesset,
The State of Israel has no territorial conflict, neither on our southern border nor on our northern one.

In these two areas, we are sitting on the recognized international border – both vis-à-vis the Palestinian Authority in the Gaza Strip, and in Lebanon.

We have no intention of interfering in their internal affairs.  On the contrary, stability and tranquility in Lebanon, free of the rule of foreign powers, and in the Palestinian Authority, are in Israel’s interest.

We yearn for the day when peace will prevail between us, for the mutual benefit of our peoples from both sides of our common border.

The campaign we are engaged in these days is against the terror organizations operating from Lebanon and Gaza.  These organizations are nothing but “sub-contractors” operating under the inspiration, permission, instigation and financing of the terror-sponsoring and peace-rejecting regimes, on the Axis of Evil which stretches from Tehran to Damascus.
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