At Knesset, Netanyahu vows to dismantle Iran's 'Evil Axis'

(JNS) — Israel is pursuing a “long-term strategy” focused on neutralizing Iran’s nuclear program and proxies, despite claims to the contrary, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday.

Speaking at the opening of the Knesset’s winter session, Netanyahu pushed back against recent claims that Israel’s war effort lacked focus.

“After each of our achievements, I hear the former officials in the television studios say: ‘Well, we understand the immediate war goals, but what’s the strategy?’” he said. “So if it’s not clear by now, I will lay it out in simple terms: Our long-term strategy, which I hope will be achieved shortly, is to dismantle the Evil Axis, sever its tentacles in the north and south, exact a heavy toll from Iran and its proxies and prevent it from obtaining nuclear arms.”

While noting that “for obvious reasons” he could not share all the actions taken and plans in this regard, Netanyahu emphasized that, “I have not given up on this central objective. Preventing a nuclear Iran is our main concern.”

Netanyahu’s remarks follow criticism from both the right and the left in Israel following Israel’s Oct. 26 retaliatory strike on Iran. According to Jerusalem, the attack targeted key Iranian weapons factories and air defense systems, but avoided energy infrastructure and Iran’s nuclear program. 

Prominent television commentator Shimon Riklin of the right-leaning Channel 14 on Oct. 26 tweeted that Netanyahu had missed “a historic opportunity” despite “explaining and persuading how crucial it was” to halt Iran’s nuclear weapons program. 

Riklin went on to claim that Netanyahu had held off on striking Iran’s nuclear program due to U.S. pressure.

Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid, head of the center-left Yesh Atid Party, also criticized the strike’s scope, tweeting that “Iran should have paid a much heavier price.”

Israel marks Oct. 7 massacre

Before addressing the Knesset on Monday, Netanyahu attended a ceremony at the Knesset plaza unveiling the cornerstone for a monument in memory of those killed during Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023 massacre and the resulting wars against Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon. 

Acknowledging the sacrifices made, the fighting in Gaza and Lebanon will “reshape these arenas,” he said. Israel is “stronger than ever, and will be even stronger,” he added.

Israel has driven Hamas underground in Gaza, largely neutralizing its capabilities. It has also crippled Hezbollah severely in Lebanon, where IDF troops are clearing out the terrorist group’s forward posts near the border with Israel. 

During his own speech at Monday’s opening Knesset session, opposition leader Lapid blamed the government for the Hamas massacre, in which terrorists murdered some 1,200 Israelis and abducted another 251.

“He who led us to the worst catastrophe in our history cannot claim he’s the right person to extract us from it. You are not,” said Lapid. “This is a prime minister who is concentrated only on himself, facing a wounded, bleeding nation, who incites and then whines about being incited against,” he added.

Israeli President Isaac Herzog in his address called on the government to do whatever was necessary to bring the hostages home from Gaza.

“We have created a rare window of opportunity, and we must move forward in any way possible to bring back home everyone now,” he said.

Meanwhile on Monday, Israelis on both sides of the hostage debate held separate rallies outside the Knesset. One was organized by the Bravery Forum (Forum Hagvura), which supports freeing the hostages through military and other kinds of pressure on Hamas. A larger rally was organized by Brothers in Arms (Achim Laneshek), a left-leaning group that opposes Netanyahu and supports making concessions to Hamas to retrieve the hostages.

Netanyahu, too, addressed the hostage issue in his speech. “At these very moments, we are searching for ways to implement measures. We will bring everyone back home without exception,” he said.

Mossad intelligence agency chief David Barnea on Monday returned from 24-hour trip to Qatar, where he had discussed the most recent proposals for a hostage deal.