I See Fighting Spirit

The Fellowship  |  January 23, 2019

As Israel faces threats from Hezbollah in Lebanon, from Iran in Syria, from Hamas in Gaza, and from terrorists within the Holy Land, her military’s more important than ever. And in a visit paid to a group of the IDF’s newest cadets, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu told the young soldiers that “the state of Israel relies on you and I rely on you”:

The main enemy that we face is Iran. Iran declares its intention to destroy us with nuclear weapons, which we are committed to thwarting. But Iran is also building forces around us. It wants to squeeze us. They established a forward base in Lebanon, via Hezbollah. They established a southern base in Gaza, supported by Hamas and Islamic Jihad, and now they want to establish a third base, right on our border, opposite the Golan Heights, as the Iranian military entrenches itself in Syria.

We are committed to fighting all of these. We are striking at the Iranian military in Syria. The IDF is the only military that is fighting the Iranian military in Syria. We are neutralizing the tunnels weapon, now with Operation Northern Shield in Lebanon, and in Gaza. We are facing Iran and its proxies on these three fronts.

The ground forces are a vital part of the decisive force of the IDF. The ground forces are quickly changing. Great things have been done and still greater things will yet be done. I have spoken with IDF Chief-of-Staff Aviv Kochavi on how to make our lethal ground forces even more lethal, and this means using all these technologies, some of which we have seen here and some of which are on the way.

Beyond this, there is one thing that does not change and that is those who, in the end, do the work – and that is you. In the end it is people. In the end it is commanders. In the end, after everything, it is the willingness to go into battle with courage and intelligence. This is what is required of you – much courage and much intelligence. I am certain that you are equipped with both.

I am certain of our ability to defeat the enemy. We are challenged from north and south, and from the east and from distant arenas – we are up to the task in these arenas.

I am impressed by what I have seen here. I see fighting spirit. Maybe there is someone in Gaza who thinks he can stick his head up; I suggest that they understand that the response will be lethal and very painful. We are ready for any scenario and escalation. We rely on you. The State of Israel relies on you and I rely on you.