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PM Netanyahu's Remarks to the Official Ceremony marking 57 Years since the Liberation and Unification of Jerusalem

Israel - Prime Minister's Office

Events and Speeches
The 37th Government
05.06.2024

Following are Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's pre-recorded remarks to the official ceremony, today (Wednesday, 5 June 2024), marking 57 years since the liberation and unification of Jerusalem:

"Honored guests,

IDF fighters,

liberators of the Old City of Jerusalem,

and - first and foremost - my brothers and sisters from the bereaved families,

families of those who fell in the war,

families of those who have fallen in the current campaign,

families of our heroes,

heroes of the people,

and families of the hostages, whom we are determined to return all of them home - the living and the deceased alike:

Fifty-seven years have passed since the Six Day War and we are again caught up in the storm of war. Then they attacked us on several fronts—and today as well our enemies are attacking us on several fronts. Then they sought to strangle us with hostility and violence - and today as well there are those who want to destroy us in a ring of terror. Then we knew that only total victory would ensure our existence - and today as well we are striving for total victory over those who seek to destroy us.

In the six days of salvation in 1967, we stood up as one and returned fire to those who attacked us. The force of life that coursed through us decided the matter in the crucial moments. After the war, we found ourselves in parts of our ancient homeland, the inheritance of our fathers, within defensible borders. We will not give up these achievements because we would thereby invite additional attacks on us, worse than those of October 7.

The unification of our capital Jerusalem redeemed it from the wounds of the War of Independence. The municipal demarcation line that separated the sections of Jerusalem created a dangerous no-man's land around it. Shooting incidents and sniper fire claimed lives. But all of this changed in an instant, when our heroic fighters seized control of Ammunition Hill. We touched the stones of the Western Wall. We sounded the call 'The Temple Mount is in our hands.' Barriers came down and Jerusalem was opened to the expanse around it.

All of Jerusalem has returned to being ours - and all of Jerusalem will remain ours forever.

Happy holiday, Jerusalem."