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Netanyahu: Israel 'Prepared to Do a Lot More' to Fight Hamas Terrorism

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Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sent a strong warning to Hamas terrorists Tuesday during his address to the annual American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) conference in Washington D.C.

Netanyahu planned on attending the convention in person but had to cut his trip to the United States short after Hamas launched a rocket attack against Israeli civilians earlier this week.

The terror group destroyed a family home Monday and pounded Israel with dozens of rockets overnight Monday. Israel responded by launching counter-strikes by air on the Gaza Strip.

"We responded with great force," the prime minister told AIPAC during a live-stream of his speech. "In the last 24 hours, the IDF destroyed major Hamas terrorist installations on a scale not seen since the military operation in Gaza ended four years ago."

Although most of Israel is preoccupied with the upcoming national elections, politics won't get in the way of protecting citizens.

"We are prepared to do a lot more. We will do what is necessary to defend our people and to defend our state," he said.

Netanyahu thanked the AIPAC attendees for working to strengthen the relationship between the United States - a relationship he says is built on "shared values" and not bribery, as one congresswoman suggested last month.

The prime minister also applauded President Donald Trump for officially recognizing Israel's control of the Golan Heights.

"The Golan Heights is indispensable for our defense. It's part of our history. When you put a shovel in the ground there what you discover are the ruins of ancient synagogues. Jews lived there for thousands of years and the people of Israel have come back to the Golan," said Netanyahu. "We shall never ever give it up."

He also addressed those who seek to pull Israel and America apart.

"They will fail. Our shared values are too deep, our shared interests too strong, our shared destiny too intertwined," said Netanyahu.

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About The Author

Julie Stahl
Julie
Stahl

Julie Stahl is a correspondent for CBN News in the Middle East. A Hebrew speaker, she has been covering news in Israel full-time for more than 20 years. Julie’s life as a journalist has been intertwined with CBN – first as a graduate student in Journalism, then as a journalist with Middle East Television (METV) when it was owned by CBN from 1989-91, and now with the Middle East Bureau of CBN News in Jerusalem since 2009. As a correspondent for CBN News, Julie has covered Israel’s wars with Gaza, rocket attacks on Israeli communities, stories on the Jewish communities in Judea, Samaria, and the