Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he had originally intended not to come to the UN General Assembly this year but after hearing the "lies and slander" levelled against his country by other leaders, he decided that he should come and "set the record straight".
"I decided to come here to speak for my people, to speak for my country and speak for the truth," he stated, stressing that Israel yearns for peace.
"We face savage enemies who seek our annihilation, and we must defend ourselves against these savage murderers, [who] seek not only to destroy us but also destroy our common civilization and return all of us to a dark age of tyranny and terror."
He recalled his address to the general debate last year, when he had stated that Israel faces the same timeless choice that Moses put before its people thousands of years ago, "that our actions will determine whether we bequeath future generations a blessing or a curse."
"And that is the choice we face today," he emphasized, citing "the curse of Iran's unremitting aggression or the blessing of a historic reconciliation between Arab and Jew."
In the days that followed, that "blessing" approached in the form of a normalization deal between Saudi Arabia and Israel, "but then came the curse of 7 October" as thousands of Iranian-backed Hamas terrorists burst into Israel, committing "unimaginable atrocities", including brutally murdering 1,200 people, including children; sexual violence against women; and kidnapping 251 people from different countries.
"Scenes reminiscent of the Nazi holocaust," Prime Minister Netanyahu stressed.
More to follow…
