Good evening.
Citizens of Israel,
The Government of Israel, under my leadership, today heard a comprehensive and detailed report from the Head of the General Security Services, Yuval Diskin, and from Ofer Dekel, my special envoy on behalf of kidnapped soldiers, who recently returned from Egypt.
The Government Ministers, in accordance with the proposal by the Vice Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Tzipi Livni, chose not to hold a detailed discussion because of the sensitivity of the matter. In the name of all the Government Ministers, the report was accepted according to which the positions held by the Hamas, as they stand, are thwarting the possibility of completing the negotiations to return Gilad Shalit home.
As long as I stand at its head, the Government of Israel will not agree to any of the conditions or dictates of the Hamas as they were presented to the negotiating team. Israel presented the other side with generous, far-reaching and unprecedented offers which were meant to lead to Gilad’s release. I approved these offers, the practical meaning of which was the release of many hundreds of terrorists, including murderers of Israeli citizens, for the possibility of returning Gilad. These offers were rejected. Others will not be delivered to the Hamas.
We will not agree to release more prisoners from the Hamas list beyond the hundreds of names that we agreed to and announced to them.
Over the past several years, in dozens of meetings with world leaders and other leading figures, I was repeatedly asked: Why are you in the State of Israel prepared to at times undermine your most vital strategic interests for one man’s fate? They do not understand this; they do not act thus. I am speaking about the best of our friends; countries with ways of life similar to our own, with similar cultures and norms; leaders who truly want what is best for Israel.
I always answered that the Jewish people carry with them other memories and pains; that we live with scars and sorrows they never had to experience or suffer. For we came here, to our land, to live in security, so that none would fight us nor we have to fight them, so that we would not be harmed nor would we be forced to harm others, so that our children would not be kidnapped nor that we would be dragged into actions against the citizens of other peoples.
Because in the end, the tie which unites Israeli society, perhaps more than anything else, is our mutual guarantee, the feeling of duty and the recognition that “to save one life in Israel – is as if you saved an entire world”.
Therefore, we worked tirelessly for years in covert, bold and unprecedented ways to bring children home; we acted thus to bring Gilad home – so far unsuccessfully. We will continue thusly; we will speak with whoever we can; we will not cease in our efforts.
For all these years, we had meetings in endless channels, in various places around the world – in our region and in places much farther away – in order to create a track which would lead to Gilad’s release. We made use of different mediators; we were helped by world leaders; and even unofficial representatives. We spared no effort. Unfortunately, we came up against a cruel group, one devoid of basic human emotions, murderous and pitiless, which was unwilling to meet the challenge.
I wish to say, on behalf of the State of Israel and its Government – we do have red lines. We will not cross them. We are not a broken people. We are not a defeated nation. A people who desire life, one surrounded by hostile countries, threatened by murderous terrorist organizations – cannot, is not willing nor will it agree to surrender to every dictate made. The Government of Israel, under my leadership, will not do so.
We will continue even now in our efforts to bring about the release of Gilad Shalit; we will continue to strive for peace with our neighbors – and we will continue to build up our strength, without flinching from using the force necessary to ensure our security.
I hope for the people of Israel that the next few days are happier ones. I send the Shalit family an embrace of strength and hope. I spoke with them at length in my office today. They know that I am wholeheartedly committed to acting together with any government in order to bring Gilad home. Thus I have acted, and thus will I act!