Netanyahu, ‘settled accounts with the murderers of Israelis’

(ANSA) – TEL AVIV, SEPTEMBER 28 – “We have settled accounts with those responsible for the murder of countless Israelis and many citizens of other countries, including hundreds of Americans and dozens of French”, said Israeli Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu this evening, issuing a video statement as soon as he returned to Israel from the United States following yesterday’s assassination of Hezbollah Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah. “Hassan Nasrallah was ‘the terrorist,’ the central engine of Iran’s axis of evil. He and his men were the architects of the plan to destroy Israel. Not only was he activated by Iran, many times he also activated the Iran,” Netanyahu added. “I gave the directive and Nasrallah is no longer with us. His elimination promotes the return of our residents to their homes in the north, and also promotes the return of our abductees: the more Sinwar sees that Hezbollah will not come to save him, the greater the possibility of the return of the hostages”. “Citizens of Israel,” he continued. “We have great results, but the work is not yet complete. In the coming days we will face significant challenges”, continued the Israeli prime minister. Netanyahu, in the unusual statement at the end of Shabbat, explained that “earlier in the week he recognized that even the heavy attacks Israel had inflicted on Hezbollah would not be enough and that eliminating Nasrallah was an essential condition for achieving the objectives: bring northern residents safely back to their homes and change the balance of power in the region for years.” As long as Nasrallah was alive, “he would quickly rehabilitate Hezbollah’s capabilities,” he said. The prime minister then turned to Iran: “Whoever strikes us, we will strike. There is no place in Iran or the Middle East that Israel’s long arm cannot reach, and today you already know how true this is. We are determined to continue to strike at our enemies,” he added. (HANDLE).