At a memorial marking 50 years since Lt. Col. Yoni Netanyahu’s death, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu used his remarks on Sunday to link his brother’s legacy to Israel’s current security challenges. Speaking at the graveside ceremony, he said the struggle against Iran’s nuclear program had defined his life since Yoni was killed in the Entebbe raid.
Netanyahu said Israel had carried out two major operations over the past year, “With the Lion” and “Roar of the Lion,” in order to remove what he called an immediate threat of annihilation from Iran’s regime. He claimed that without those operations, Iran would already have had atomic bombs and would have used them. He added that Israel had achieved “great achievements” in the campaign and would not give them up.
Addressing the northern front, Netanyahu said Israel would remain in the security strip in southern Lebanon for as long as necessary to protect residents of the north and all citizens of the country. “As prime minister of Israel, I insist on this firmly, and nothing will change that,” he said.
He also delivered a personal pledge about Iran’s nuclear ambitions: “Whatever the political developments, I will not let Iran arm itself with nuclear weapons. As long as I am prime minister of Israel, that will not happen.” He ended by saying that “the State of Israel will not be a passing episode in our people’s history” and that it would continue standing firm on its vital interests.
