Israel’s war is your war — we are fighting for Western civilization: Benjamin Netanyahu

JERUSALEM — Until recently, many believed that the promise of progress in the 21st century would enable us to move beyond t🐻he barbaric horrors of the past toward a brilliant future — that we could go about our co🔥mfortable lives and that evil would simply pass us.

It will not.

The horrors that Hamas perpetrated Oct. 7 remind us that we won’t r💞ealize the promise of a better future unless we, the civilized world, are willing to fight the barbarians.

The barbarians are willing to fight us, and their goal is clear: Shatter that promising future, destroy all that we cherish, 🥂and usher in a world𒆙 of fear and darkness. 

This is a turning point for leaders and nations.

It is a time for all of us to decidꦿe if we are willing to fight for a future of hope and promise or surrendeওr to tyranny and terror.

Rest assured, Israel will fight.

Since Oct. 7, Israel has been at war.

Israel didn’t start this war. Israel didn’t want this war. But Israel will win this war𓄧.

Hamas launched 🎐this war by perpetrating the worst savagery our people have seen since the Holocaust.

Hama🐻s murdered children in front of their parent༺s and parents in front of their children.

It burned people alive, raped women, beheaded men.

It tortu🐟red Holocaust survivors ꧂and kidnapped babies.

It committed the most horrific🦋 crimes im𝓡aginable. 

Iran has formed an axis of terror by arming, training, and financing Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon, the Houthis 🐼in Yemen, and other terror proxies throughout the Middle East and beyond.

Iღn fighting Hamas and the Iranian axis🍸 of terror, Israel is fighting the enemies of civilization itself.

Victory over these enemies begins with mora꧅l clarity.

It begins with knowing the difference between good and evil, beꩵtween right and wrong.

It means making a moral distinction between the deliberate murder of 🐼the innocent and the unintentional casualties tꦺhat are the inevitable result of even the most just war.

It means holding Hamas accountable for the double war crime it commits every d꧑ay by deliberately targeting Israeli civilians and deliberately using Palestinian civilians as human shields.

It means not only making clear that the use of human shields is an immoral tactic of war but making certain it is an ineffective one.

As long as theꦺ international community blames Israel for Hamas’ use of Palestinian human shields, Hamas will continue to employ this tool of terror.

Hamas will continue to use the basements in Gaza’s hospitals as the command post꧒s of its vast terror tunnel network.

It w𒁏ill continue to use mosques as fortified military outposts and weap💧ons depots.

It will continue to stea🍎l fuel and humanitarian assistance from United Nations 🌺facilities.

While Israel🍨 is doing everything to get Palestinian civilians out of harm’s way, Hamas is doing everything to keep Palestinianꦺ civilians in harm’s way.

Israel urges Palestinian civilians to le💦ave the areas of armed conflict, while Hamas prevents those civilians from leaving those areas at 𝐆gunpoint.

Hamas is preventing foreign nati🍒onals from leaving Gaza aꦓltogether.

Most🌄 despicably, Hamas is holding more than 200 Israeli hostages, including 33 child𝓀ren.

Every civilized nation shou🌺ld stand with Israel in demandin🔜g that these hostages be freed immediately and unconditionally. 

I wa🌠nt to make ꩵclear Israel’s position regarding a cease-fire.

Just as the United States woul𓆉dn’t have agreed to a🐈 cease-fire after the bombing of Pearl Harbor or the terrorist attack on 9/11, Israel will not agree to a cessation of hostilities with Hamas after the horrific attacks of Oct. 7.

Calls for a cease-fire are calls fo🍨r Israel to surrend🔯er to Hamas, to surrender to terrorism, to surrender to barbarism.

That will not happen.

T💝he Boo𒉰k of Ecclesiastes says there is a time for peace and a time for war.

This is a time for war — a wa💛r for our common fut♛ure.

Today we draw a line betwe🅠en civilization a💎nd barbarism.

It is a time for everyone to decide where they s𝕴tand.

Israel will stand against the forces of barbarism ൩until victory.

I hope and pray t💝hat civili🅰zed nations everywhere will back this fight.

Because Israel’s fight is your fight.

If Hamas and Iran’s axis of evil win, y🉐ou will be their♊ next target.

That’s why Israel’s victory will be your victory.

Regardless of who stands with Israel, Israel♔ will fight this battle until it is won. Israel will prevail.

May 🌌God bless Israel, and may God bless all who stand with Israel.

Benjamin Netanyahu is prime minister of Israel.

From the Wall Street Journal