‘There are moments when you must know how to tell even POTUS what we stand for’: Israel PM

TEL AVIV: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that although the Hezbollah is still in Lebanon, they are destroying its infrastructure.

Netanyahu, while speaking at the Federation of Local Authorities in Israel Conference, said that Israel will tell even the President of the United States what it stands for.

Excerpts from his speech posted on X by the office of Israeli Prime Minister said, “I also told President Trump, well, two presidents, Biden first of all, when they told me ‘Do not enter Rafah.’ Do you know why they said ‘Do not enter Rafah’? Because the President of the United States said he would halt the weapons supply. I said I respect him very much, and he even came here at the beginning of the war, but we have no choice, we will enter – and if we must, we will fight with our fingernails. Because there are moments when you must know how to tell even the President of the United States what we stand for”.

Excerpt from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu remarks, today, at the Federation of Local Authorities in Israel Conference:
“It’s true, Hezbollah is still in Lebanon, but there is something else there now. Today, there is a security zone there that prevents Hezbollah and its… pic.twitter.com/U699wsD3kF

— Prime Minister of Israel (@IsraeliPM) June 24, 2026

“When I came to President Trump before Operation Rising Lion, I told him, ‘We are going into Iran, because I am not waiting for these oppressors who declare openly that they want to destroy us, and you too, by the way, I told him, but us first. I will not let that happen. Therefore, we are taking action.’ I didn’t ask for permission; I simply informed him of our plan. To my joy, he also joined toward the end with a very important action,” he added.

Netanyahu said that those who questioned him over his operations are now questioning him even after they achieved 80-90% of the objectives.

“But they said ‘it’s impossible.’ Don’t do it. Don’t get entangled, because Iran will come and destroy our cities and our citizens, and thousands, if not tens of thousands, will die. So the very same people who told us don’t enter Gaza, don’t enter Rafah, don’t enter Lebanon, don’t enter Syria, don’t enter Iran, Master of the Universe, don’t destroy their leadership…” he said.

“Today, they come and tell us, ‘But you didn’t finish the job.’ They, who wanted zero, come and tell us, ‘You didn’t achieve 100%, only 80-90%.’ There is still work to do, it is not over, that is true, but who will do it? If you don’t have true leadership, not what they put in the talking points of various advertising agencies,” he added.

Meanwhile, there are talks going on in Washington between Lebanese and Israeli ambassadors about establishing pilot zones, where exactly this kind of thing is supposed to happen – the Israeli military is supposed to withdraw, and the Lebanese army is supposed to deploy, as per Al Jazeera. (ANI)