expressing a belief they would rather this wasn't happening. that's not a bipartisan show of support. what netanyahu has done is turn the u.s.-israeli relationship into a deeply partisan issue in this country, and that's not in the long term good for israel. i think he's adminished leader arriving in a washington that is distracted on other issues and also a holdout to what the u.s. government has been trying to achieve, obtaining the cease fire. the u.s. government put out weeks ago, president biden, that there was an israel proposal on the table that could get this done. each time, the israeli negotiators advanced the proposal, netanyahu has often himself at the last minute, said things or done things that punted this forward and drug this out, which contributes to that frustration, that what he's mainly interested in is political survival. i'm not sure that he's going to get the boost he wants out of this, and i'm also not sure that he's going to reach audiences in

the united states that used to be more receptive to him in the past told. he may be popular with certain republicans, but i don't think he has a cache back in the states, he's a polarizing figure in the united states just as he is in israel. so, i think, you know, it's not necessarily the big win he thinks it is and maybe mike johnson thinks it is. it's a divisive event that is not going to get nearly the attention that that 2015 speech did. >> and admiral stavridis, among those very frustrated is president biden. he has made this goal to end this war, to bring the hostages home with the remaining six months he has in office, and i wonder what you think is the realistic expectation and can anything come out of the meeting that netanyahu and president biden will have? >> i think unfortunately it feels unlikely to me that this

administration, the biden administration is going to get the win that i think they deserve. they work so hard to pull this together. tony blinken, jake sullivan, the whole team have just been in and out of the middle east and above all, ambassador bill burns, but as ben said a moment ago, the israelis have been pulling back, and hamas has been pulling back. both sides have manipulated this long series of conversations to the detriment of these hostages, so look. bibi really has three audiences here. two of which we've discussed, a u.s. audience. he's going to seek to show that he can work with both sides, we'll see how successful he is. his second audience, obviously is in israel. and we've talked about what he's trying to do there, shore up his right flank, hold on to power. he's doing this right before the

knesset. their congress goes out for three months, so those two audiences, i think we understand. there's a third audience here. it's teheran. he is going to signal to teheran the resolution of israel. you saw it most recently in the attacks against the houthi proxies on the coast of the red sea blowing up. a major port there. 2,000 mile. benjamin netanyahu will be also speaking to the iranians. here in this administration, what they would luke to do on their watch in these remaining few months is bring saudi arabia to a point of recognizing israel, thus sort of completing the idea of the abraham accords. you could almost call them the joseph accords, if joe biden can accomplish that. i think that's the part that's going to be hard.

and to conclude, chris, i think the chances of getting to a cease fire are about even right now. that's as high as they've been. but we'll learn a lot more as we listen to the prime minister address those three audiences. >> we were just showing a picture of rashida tlaib, and she's of course the michigan democrat, palestinian american, she has called benjamin netanyahu a war criminal. she's definitely one of the surprising faces of folks who are actually in the chamber there. let me go to monica. the vice president, as we have said multiple times, not presiding over this speech, as would be traditional. she did cite the scheduling conflict. what do we know about her and the president's plans to meet with netanyahu tomorrow? >> yeah, vice president harris has been in indianapolis today, chris, and tomorrow she's going to be in houston for a speech, so they are citing those scheduling conflicts as the

reason for why she isn't there today. she will be meeting with prime minister netanyahuen on her own. there have been tense calls between president biden and prime minister netanyahu, often vice president harris has joined those phone calls or been a part of those, so she has had a full sense of the relationship and the difficult and complicated thorny issues that they are constantly discussing as it relates to the war in gaza, and she is someone who also privately has met with the american hostage families and has kept in touch with them, i'm told. so that is something you can certainly expect to extend now in her role as the potential and certainly de facto democratic nominee, and i think tomorrow also what will be notable, chris, is when you see president biden and prime minister netanyahu meeting with the american hostage teams and that push for a cease fire deal that they have been working on for months and months and months, that is something that vice president harris has also talked about and remember that it was

her in a speech in selma, alabama, some months ago that went a little bit further in terms of the tone of calling for an immediate cease fire under the conditions of this deal than even president biden had done. if he had hinted at it, it was the way she delivered the words that were seen as a little bit of a moment in the story of how the white house and the biden administration had continued to put pressure on all of the parties to try to get to some kind of an agreement, chris, which obviously is still elusive. >> andrea mitchell, obviously as he comes into the chamber, you see the empty seats but you see him warmly applauded and greeted by members particularly on the republican side. >> that's the image that he wants to be seen in israel because while we are reporting here of all of the absences and it's notable that patty murray, president pro tem is not behind him so substituting for her

because she is boycotting it is ben cardin. but this is the image. and this is very important to netanyahu. he is fighting for his survival, his political life back home, protests are continuing. we don't see as much of it. when you follow it closely, they are daily protests. the hostage families now joined by legions of others, believing he is prolonging the war, too many people are dying, and particularly the people that want to get back to their homes in the north where hezbollah has 150,000 missiles trained on those neighborhoods, trained on israel proper. that would be, not only the second front but a real war, an escalation, and it's a tinderbox right now, and hezbollah, in that region, has said in lebanon, that they will observe the cease fire if it is negotiated in gaza. that's what they want to see. a cease fire in gaza could buy peace in the north.

those families could go home before the school year begins in september, and they hope, according to secretary blinken, jake sullivan, the national security adviser, that a six-week cease fire could be prolonged into a permanent cease fire and get all the hostages out. >> i have the high privilege and distinct honor of presenting his excellency, benjamin netanyahu, prime minister of israel. [ cheers and applause ] >> speaker of the house, mike

johnson, senator ben cardin, minority leader hakeem jeffries, senate majority leader chuck schumer, senate minority leader mitch mcconnell. senators, members of congress. distinguished guests, mr. speaker, i want to thank you for giving me the profound honor of addressing this great citadel of democracy for the fourth time. [ applause ] we meet today at a cross roads of history. our world is in upheaval. in the middle east, iran's access of terror confronts

america, israel, and our arab friends. this is not a clash of civiluations. it's a clash between barbarism and civilization. [ applause ] it's a clash between those who glorify death and those who sanctify life. [ applause ] for the forces of civilization to thrive, america and israel must stand together. [ applause ] because when we

stand together, something very simple happens, we win, they lose. [ applause ] and my friends, i came to assure you today of one thing, we will win. [ applause ] ladies and gentlemen, like december 7th, 1941, and september 11th, 2001, october 7th is a day that will forever live in infamy.

it was the jewish holiday. it began as a perfect day, not a cloud in the sky. thousands of young israelis were celebrating at an outdoor music festival, and suddenly at 6:29 a.m., as children were still sleeping soundly in their bads in the kibbutz next to gaza, suddenly heaven turned into hell. 3,000 hamas terrorists stormed into israel, they butchered 1,200 people from 41 countries, including 39 americans. proportionately, compared to our population size, that's like 20 9/11's in one day. these monsters, they rape women, they beheaded men. they burned babies alive.

they killed parents in front of their children. and children in front of their parents. they dragged 255 people, both living and dead into the dark dungeons of gaza. israel has already brought home 135 of these hostages, including seven who were freed during rescue operations. [ applause ] one of those freed hostages, nor gamani is here in the gallery, sitting near my wife sarah.

on the morning -- [ applause ] on the morning of october 7th. the entire world saw noa's look of desperation as she was violently abducted to gaza on the back of a motorcycle. i met noa's mother a few months ago. she was dying of cancer. she said to me, prime minister, i have one final wish, i wish to hug my daughter noa one last time before i die. two months ago, i authorized a breathtaking command rescue

operation. our special forces, including an officer who fell in this battle, rescued noa and three other hostages. [ applause ] noa, i think it's one of the most moving things, when noa was reunited with her mother leora, and her mother's last wish came true. noa, we're so thrilled to have you with us today. thank you.

[ applause ] many hostage families are also here with us today, including ilio bibas. the graph of the two beautiful redheaded boys, toddlers, and they were taken hostage with their mother and ilio's son. the entire family was taken hostage. two beautiful red-haired children, taken hostage. what monsters. and with us also is ilya sahim whose son bravely escaped hamas captivity with two other israelis, and they were tragically killed making their way back our lines. we have with us also families of american hostages.

they're here. [ applause ] the pain these families have endured is beyond words. i met with them again yesterday, and i promised them this, i will not rest until all their loved ones are home. all of them. [ cheers and applause ] as we speak, we're actively engaged in intensive efforts to secure their release, and i'm confident that these efforts can

succeed. some of them are taking place right now. i want to thank president biden for his tireless efforts on behalf of the hostages and for his efforts to the hostage families as well. [ cheers and applause ] i thank president biden for his heartfelt support for israel after the savage attack on october 7th. he rightly called hamas, sheer evil. he dispatched two aircraft carriers to the middle east to deter a wider war, and he came with israel to stand with us during our darkest hour, a visit that will never be forgotten.

[ applause ] president biden and i have known each other for over 40 years. i want to thank him for half a century to friendship to israel and for being as he says, a proud zionist, actually, he says a proud irish-american zionist. [ applause ] my friends for more than nine months, israel's soldiers have shown boundless courage. with us today [ applause ] with us today is lieutenant abuhal ruven. abuhal ruven

an officer in the israeli paratroopers, his family immigrated to israel from ethiopia. in the early hours of october 7th, he heard the news of hamas's bloody rampage. he put on his uniform, grabbed his rifle, but he didn't have a car. so he ran 8 miles to the front lines of gaza to defend his people. [ applause ] you hear that right. he ran eight miles, came to the front lines, killed many

terrorists, and saved many many lives. [ applause ] we all honor your remarkable heroism. another israeli is with us here today, and he's standing -- stand up right next to avihail. this is master sergeant, asha abahili. ashraf is a veteran soldier. on october 7th, ashraf, too, killed many terrorists. first he defended his comrades in the military base and rushed to defend the neighboring communities, including the

devastated community of kibbutz be'eri. like ashraf, the muslim soldiers of the idf fought alongside their jewish, christian, and other comrades in arms with tremendous bravery. [ applause ] a third hero, lieutenant assa sofer is also here with us. us [ applause ] an officer in the tank corps, and he was wounded

in battle. he was wounded in battle while protecting his fellow soldiers from a grenade. he lost his right arm and the vision in his left eye. he's recovering, and incredibly, within a short time, asa will soon return to active duty as a command of a tan company [ applause ] ause ] i just learned there is a fourth hero here, lieutenant jonathan ben hamel who lost a leg in gaza and continued to fight.

[ applause ] [ cheers and applause ] my friends, these are the soldiers of israel, unbowed, undaunted, unafraid. [ cheers and applause ] as the bible says, they shall rise like lions. they have risen like lions, the lions of judah, the lions of

israel. [ applause ] ladies and gentlemen, the men and women of the idf come from every corner of israeli society, every ethnicity, every color, every creed. left and right, religious and secular. all are imbued with the indomitable spirit of the mcabees, the legendary jewish warriors. yahil's father escaped the holocaust and found refuge in america. as a young man, yahil moved to israel and raised a family of eight children. he named his son after his late

father. he became an exemplary officer. he served with distinction for two decades, while raising six beautiful children of his own. on october 7th, mushev volunteered to return to combat. four weeks later he was killed when a booby-trap mine exploded into a tunnel shaft right next to a mosque. at his son's funeral, yahil said this, if the state of israel had not been established after the holocaust, the image engraved in our collective memory would have been the photograph of that hopeless jewish boy in the warsaw ghetto holding his hands up in the air with nazi rifles pointed at him. but because of the birth of israel, yahil continued, because of the courage of soldiers like my son, the jewish people are no longer helpless in the face of our enemies. [ applause ]

[ cheers and applause ] yahil, please rise so we can honor your son's sacrifice, and i pledge to you and to all the bereaved families of israel, some of whom are in this hall today, the sacrifice of your loved ones will not be in vain. [ applause ] it will not be in vain because for israel, never again must never be an empty promise. it must always remain a sacred

vow, and after october 7th, never again is now. [ applause ] [ cheers and applause ] my friends, defeating our brutal enemies requires both courage and clarity. clarity begins by knowing the difference between good and evil. yet, incredibly many anti-israel protesters, many choose to stand with evil. they stand with hamas. they stand with rapists and murderers. they stand with people who came into the kibitz, into a home, the parents hid the children, the two babies in an attic, secret attic.

they murdered the families, the parents, they found the secret latch to the hidden attic, and then they murdered the babies. these protesters stand with them. they should be ashamed of themselves. [ applause ] they refuse to make the simple distinction between those who target terrorists and those who target civilians.

between the democratic state of israel and the terrorist thugs of hamas. we recently learned from the national security director, u.s. director of national intelligence that iran is funding and promoting anti-israel protests in america. they want to disrupt america. so these protesters burn american flags even on the fourth of july. and i wish to salute the fraternity brothers at the university of north carolina who protected the american flag, protected the american flag against these anti-israel protesters. [ cheers and applause ] [ chanting usa ]

>> for all we know, iran is funding the anti-israel protests that are going on right now outside this building. not that many, but they're there. and throughout the city. well, i have a message for these protesters, when the tyrants of teheran who hang gays from cranes and murder women for not covering their hair are praising, promoting and funding you, you have officially become iran's useful idiots. [ cheers and applause ] some of these protesters, and it's amazing, absolutely

amazing, some of these protesters holds up signs proclaiming gays for gaza. they might as well hold up signs saying chickens for kfc. these protesters chant from the river to the sea but many don't have a clue what river and what sea they're talking about. they not only get an f in geography, they get an f in history. they call israel -- they call israel a colonialist state. don't they know that the land of israel is where abraham, isaac and jacob prayed, where isaiah and jeremiah preached and where david and solomon ruled?

[ applause ] for nearly 4,000 years, the land of israel has been the homeland of the jewish people. it's always been our home. it will always be our home. it's not only the campus protesters who get it wrong. it's also the people who run those campuses. 80 years after the holocaust, 80 years after the holocaust, the presidents of harvard, penn, and i'm ashamed to say, my alma mater, mit, couldn't bring themselves to condemn the calls for the genocide of jews. remember what they said?

they said, it depends on the context. well, let me give these befuddled academics a little context. [ applause ] anti-semitism is the world's oldest hatred. for centuries the massacre of jews was always preceded by wild accusations. we were accused of everything from poisoning wells to spreading plagues to using the blood of slaughtered children to make passover, these preposterous anti-semitic lies led to persecution, mass murder, and ultimately to history's worst genocide, the holocaust. just as malicious lies were leveled for centuries at the jewish people, malicious lies are now being leveled at the jewish state. no, no, don't applaud.

listen. the outrageous slanders that made israel racist and genocidal are meant to delegitimatize israel, demonize the jewish state and demonize jews everywhere, we have witnessed an appalling rise of anti-semitism in america and around the world. my friends, whenever and wherever we see the scourge of anti-semitism, we must unequivocally condemn it and resolutely fight it without exception. [ cheers and applause ] and don't be fooled when the

blood liables against the jewish state come from people who wear fancy silk robes and speak in lofty tones about law and justice. here's a case in point. the prosecutor of the international criminal court has shamefully accused israel of deliberately starving the people of gaza. this is utter, complete nonsense. it's a complete fabrication. [ applause ] israel has enabled more than 40,000 aid trucks to enter gaza. that's half a million tons of food, and that's more than 3,000 calories for every man, woman and child in gaza. if there are palestinians in gaza who aren't getting enough food, it's not because israel is blocking it. it's because hamas is stealing

it. [ applause ] so much for that lie. but here's another. the icc prosecutor accuses israel of deliberately targeting civilians. what in god's green earth is he talking about? the idf just dropped millions of flyers, sent millions of text messages, made hundreds of thousands of phone calls to get palestinian civilians out of harm's way, but at the same time, hamas -- hamas does everything in its power to put palestinian civilians in harm's way. they fire rockets from schools, from hospitals, from mosques. they even shoot their own people when they try to leave the war zone. a senior hamas official boasted, listen to this, he boasted that palestinian women and children excel at being human shields.

his words. excel at being human shields. what monstrous evil. for israel, every civilian death is a tragedy. for hamas, it's a strategy. they actually want palestinian civilians to die so that israel will be smeared in the international media and be pressured to end the war before it's won. this would enable hamas to survive another day, and as they vowed to carry out october 7th again and again and again. well, i want to assure you, no matter what pressure is brought to bear, i will never allow that to happen. [ cheers and applause ] the vast majority of americans

have not fallen for this hamas propaganda. they continue to support israel. and i want to say, thank you, america, and thank you, senators and house members who continue to support us, continue to support israel, continue to support the truth and see through the lies. but as for the minority, that may have fallen for hamas's con job, i suggest you listen to colonel john spencer. john spencer is head of urban warfare studies at west point. he studied every major urban conflict. i was going to say in modern history, he corrected me, no, in history. israel, he said, has implemented more precautions to prevent civilian harm than any military in history and beyond what international law requires.

[ applause ] that's why despite all the lies you've heard, the war in gaza has one of the lowest ratios of combatants to non-combatant casualties in the history of urban warfare. and you want to know where it's lowest in gaza? it's lowest in rafah. in rafah. remember what so many people said, if israel goes into rafah, there will be thousands, maybe even tens of thousands of civilians killed, well, last week, i went into rafah. i visited our troops, as they finished fighting hamas's remaining terrorist battalions. i asked the commander there, how many terrorists did you take out in rafah. he gave me an exact number.

1,203. i asked him, how many civilians were killed? he said, prime minister, practically none. with the exception of a single incident, where shrapnel from a bomb hit a hamas weapons depot and unintentionally killed two dozen people. the answer is practically none, you want to know why, because israel got the civilians out of harm's way, something people said we could never do. but we did it. [ applause ] these heroes here today, soldiers of israel should not be condemned for how they're conducting the war in gaza, they should be commended for it.

[ applause ] i want to thank you all of you here today who forcefully oppose the false accusations of the icc and stood up for the truth. these lies are not only libelous, they're down right dangerous. the icc is trying to shackle israel's hands and prevent us from defending ourselves, and if israel's hands are tied, america is next. and i'll tell you what else is next, the ability of all democracies to fight terrorism will be imperilled. that's what's on the line. so let me assure you, the hands of the jewish state will never be shackled. israel will always defend itself. [ cheers and applause ]

my friends in the middle east, iran is virtually behind all the terrorism, all the turmoil, all the chaos, all the killing. and that should come as no surprise. when he founded the islamic republic, i ya homeni pledged, we will export the islamic revolution to the entire world. now ask yourself, which country ultimately stands in the way of iran's me nigh call plans to impose radical islam on the world, and the answer is clear. it's america. the guardian of western civilization and the world's greatest power. [ applause ] power [ applause ]

that's why iran sees america as its greatest enemy. last month, a revealing comment, ostensibly about the war in gaza, but about something else. it came from the foreign minister of iran's proxy, hezbollah. this is not a war with israel. israel, he said, is merely a tool. the main war, the real war is with america. iran's regime has been fighting america from the moment it came to power. in 1979 it stormed the american embassy. it held scores of americans hostage for 444 days. since then, iran easter ron desantis -- iran's terrorist

proxies. in africa, they bombed american embassies. in iraq, they supplied explosives to maim and kill thousands of american soldiers. in america, they actually sent death squads. they sent death squads here to murder a former secretary of state, and national security adviser. they brazenly threatened to assassination president trump, but iran understands that to truly challenge america, it must first conquer the middle east. and for this, it uses its many proxies including the houthis, hezbollah, and hamas. yet in the heart of the middle east, standing in iran's way is one proud, pro-american democracy. my country, the state of israel. .

[ applause ] prz that's why the mobs in teheran chant death to israel before they chant death to america. for iran, israel is first. america is next. so when israel fights hamas, we're fighting iran. when we fight hezbollah, we're fighting iran. when we fight the houthis, we're fighting iran, and when we fight iran, we're fighting the most radical and murderous enemy of the united states of america, and one more thing, when israel acts to prevent iran from developing nuclear weapons, nuclear weapons that could destroy israel and threaten every american city, every city

that you come from, we're not only protecting ourselves. we're protecting you. [ applause ] my friends, if you remember one thing, one thing from the speech, remember this, our enemies are your enemies. our fight is your fight, and our victory will be your victory. [ cheers and applause ] ladies and gentlemen, that

victory is in sight. israel's defeat of hamas will be a powerful blow to iran's axis of terror. another part of that axis, hezbollah attacked israel on october 8th, the day after the hamas attack. it has launched thousands of missiles and drones against us. 80 thousands of our citizens in northern israel evacuated their homes, becoming effectively refugees in their own land. we're committed to returning them home. we prefer to achieve this diplomatically, but let me be clear, israel will do whatever it must do to restore security to our northern border and return our people safely to their homes. [ applause ]

last friday, a third iranian proxy, the houthis attacked tel aviv with a deadly drone. it exploded a few hundred feet from the american consulate, killing one person and injuring nine. on saturday, i authorized a swift response to that attack. all our enemies should know this. those who attack israel will pay a very heavy price. and as we defend ourselves -- [ applause ] and as we defend ourselves on all fronts, i know that america has our back. and i thank you for it. all sides of the aisle. thank you.

[ applause ] my friends, for decades, america has provided israel with generous military assistance and a grateful israel has provided america with critical intelligence that saved many lives. we've jointly developed some of the most sophisticated weapons on earth. i choose my words carefully. we've jointly developed some of the most sophisticated weapons on earth that help protect both our countries. and we also help keep american boots -- we help keep americans' boots off the ground while protecting our shared interests in the middle east. [ applause ] i deeply appreciate

america's support, including in this current war. but this is an exceptional moment. fast tracking u.s. military aid can dramatically expedite an end to the war in gaza and help prevent a broader war in the middle east. and world war ii, as britain fought on the front lines of civilization, winston churchhill appealed to americans with these famous words, give us the tools and the we'll finish the job. today as israel fights on the front line of civilization, i too appeal to america, give us the tools faster and we'll finish the job faster. [ applause ] my dear friends,

the war in gaza could end tomorrow if hamas surrenders, disarms, and returns all the hostages. but if they don't, israel will fight until we destroy hamas's military capabilities and its rule in gaza and bring all of our hostages home. that's what total victory means and we will settle for nothing less. the day after we defeat hamas, a new gaza could emerge. my vision for that day is of a

demilitarized and deradicalized gaza. israel does not seek to resettle gaza, but for the foreseeable future, we must retain overriding security control there to prevent the resurgence of terror to ensure that gaza never again poses a threat to israel. [ applause ] gaza will have a civilian administration run by palestinians who do not seek to destroy israel. that's not too much to ask. it's a fundamental thing that we have a right to demand and to receive. [ applause ] a new generation of palestinians must no longer be taught to hate jews but rather to live in peace with us.

[ applause ] those twin words, demilitarization and deradicalization, those two concepts were applied to germany and japan after world war ii, and that led to decades of peace, prosperity and security. following our victory, following our victory with the help of regional partners, the demilitarization, and deradicalization of gaza can also lead to a future of security, prosperity, and peace. that's my vision for gaza. now, here's my vision for the broader middle east. it's also shaped in part by what we saw in the aftermath of world war ii. after that war, america forged

the security alliance in europe to counter the growing soviet threat. like wise, america and israel today can forge an alliance in the middle east to counter act the growing threat. all those countries that will make peace with israel should be invited to join this alliance. we saw a glimpse, we saw a glimpse of that potential alliance on april 14th. led by the united states, more than half a dozen nations worked alongside israel to help neutralize hundreds of missiles and drones launched by iran against us. thank you, president biden, for bringing that coalition together. the new alliance i envision

would be a natural extension of the ground breaking abraham accords. those accords saw peace forged between israel and four arab countries, and they were supported by republicans and democrats alike. we could call -- i have a name for this new alliance. i think we should call it the ib -- abraham alliance. i want to thank president trump for his leadership in brokering the historic abraham accords. [ applause ] like americans, israelis were relieved that president trump emerged safe and

sound from that dastardly attack on him, dastardly attack on american democracy. there is no room for attacks on democracies. [ applause ] prz i also want to thank president trump for all the things he did for israel, recognizing israel's sovereignty over the golan heights, recognizing jerusalem as our capital and moving the american embassy there. [ applause ] that's jerusalem, our eternal capital, never to be divided again.

my dear friends, democrats and republicans, despite these times of upheaval, i'm hopeful about the future. i'm hopeful about israel. because my people, the jewish people, emerged from the depths of hell, from dispossession and genocide, and against all odds, we restored our sovereignty in our ancient homeland. we built a powerful and vibrant democracy, a democracy that pushes the boundaries of innovation for the betterment of all humanity. i'm hopeful about america. because i'm hopeful about americans. i know how much the people of this country have sacrificed to defend freedom. america will be continued to be a force for light and good in a dark and dangerous world.

for free peoples everywhere, america remains the beacon of liberty, the historic founders' vision back in 1776. [ applause ] working together, i'm confident that our two nations will vanquish the tyrants and terrorist who is threaten us both. as israel's prime minister, i promise you this, no matter how long it takes, no matter how difficult the road ahead, israel will not relent. israel will not bend. we will defend our land. we will defend our people. we will fight until we achieve victory. victory over liberty, rather victory of liberty over, victory

life over death, victory of good over evil. that's our solemn commitment. [ applause ] and we will continue to work with the united states and our arab partners to transform a troubled region from the back water of repression, poverty and war into a thriving oasis of dignity, prosperity and peace. in this noble mission, as in many others, israel will always remain america's indispensable ally, through thick and thin. through thick and thin,