Netanyahu to pilots: We will use all means to defend our sovereignty

Facing current threats, Israel “will use all means to defend our sovereignty and the security of Israeli citizens,” Netanyahu declared.

By: World Israel News Staff

Israel “will use all means” to defend its sovereignty and security, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated, while vowing that he will not allow Iranian military forces to establish bases in Syria.

Speaking at the Israeli Air Force pilots’ course graduation ceremony at Hatzerim Air Force Base on Wednesday, Netanyahu lauded the IAF for being “at the peak of its abilities – with the best technological tools, the best planes in the world, the best pilots in the world, with offensive and defensive capabilities and with awesome firepower that can reach both short-range and distant targets as necessary.”

The IAF’s preparedness is crucial because Israel continues to face “major challenges in the north, south and east. On all of these fronts we find the arms of radical Islam, which has already caused terrible disasters in our region but not in our state,” Netanyahu stated. “We are an island in a very stormy sea.”

Therefore, Israel’s security policy is clear, Netanyahu said: “We will not allow Iranian military forces to establish bases in Syria in order to attack us and we will act to prevent the manufacture of precise and deadly weapons aimed at us.”

The IAF has already reportedly bombed several Iranian targets inside Syria, ones that posed an immidiate threat. However, the Iranians have made great strides in establishing themselves militarily in the war-torn country, and by doing so establishing a land bridge to Lebanon, which would enable the free traffic of arms and personnel to and from the Hezbollah terror organization.

Regarding the Gaza Strip, Netanyahu said that Israel wants the local population to “live its life quietly and calmly, but the decision as to whether or not there is quiet in Gaza depends, first of all, on Gaza.”

Israel “will neither allow nor tolerate any escalation on the part of Hamas or any other terrorist element against the State of Israel. We will use all means to defend our sovereignty and the security of Israeli citizens,” Netanyahu declared.

Israel recently saw a flare-up on its border with Gaza as terrorists fired several rockets into Israeli territory. The IAF responded by bombing Hamas targets.

“We are taking care to develop our strength on land, at sea and in the air, and in intelligence and cyber. We frequently outpace the world in identifying and meeting new challenges. We did this with active defense systems, including Iron Dome and other systems. We are currently doing so with tunnels and we are justly proud of our technology,” Netanyahu pointed out.

However, Israel is now facing a new threat, a new challenge that many of pilots are familiar with – that of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV).

Hezbollah has deployed quadcopters in its offensive in Syria, and Hamas in Gaza has been trying to obtain such capabilities as well.

“Here as well we are in the vanguard and the air force is adapting itself to, and developing, the most advanced technology in the world,” Netanyahu concluded.

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