"The right for a Jewish state and the right to self defense are two of the basic principles of our people. These two elements are interwoven: Without a state of our own we cannot defend ourselves and without the right to self defense, we cannot run our own country," Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said at the opening of the Knesset's winter session on Monday.
The prime minister was referring to the recently published Goldstone Commission report on Israel's Operation Cast Lead in Gaza last winter.
"These basic rights are under continuous assault, gaining momentum since the Second Lebanon War and Operation Cast Lead. We must repel this onslaught," Netanyahu said.
The prime minister continued to address the report, saying that "we never claimed the rules of war do not apply to us," at which point Balad MK Jamal Zahalka began heckling him. Zahalka only calmed down after he was threatened to be removed from the plenum by Knesset Chairman Reuven Rivlin. RELATEDNetanyahu: We must focus efforts against Goldstone report
Netanyahu defended his predecessor former prime minister Ehud Olmert, as well as opposition leader and former foreign minister Tzipi Livni over their decision to send IDF troops to the battlefield in Gaza.
"Israel will not allow its leaders to be prosecuted at The Hague. We reject this absurd state of affairs."
President Shimon Peres, who spoke prior to Netanyahu, stressed the importance of attaining peace with the Palestinians, warning against an option of Israel turning into a "de facto single state with two nations" that would "be alone, isolated, and solely responsible for all the territories." Instead, Peres urged the state to "try every option in order to put an end to more than 100 years of quarrel and bloodshed."
Reaching an agreement with the Palestinians, said Peres, would open the door to further agreements with Syria and Lebanon. In doing so, Israel would "remove the main pretext for the Iranian madness," he insisted, adding that he believed most of the population understood the necessity of a two-state solution.
Peres addressed the Goldstone Commission's investigation, saying that "a one-sided report," that "ignores the aggressors' crime of terror… will not determine our fate." The president said that the report failed to make a single suggestion that "deals with how to fight terrorism."
Peres praised the IDF for defending the state, calling it the only body that could protect "the historic right of our nation. Sweden cannot not prevent the terror. The IDF does," Peres said.
Finally, Peres reiterated the importance of education, saying that "we have no capital except for human capital… Providing primary and secondary education, free, for all of Israel's youths, promises the best future for this country."
