Amid intense US pressure on Israel regarding its military activities against Hezbollah in Lebanon, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu asserted that Israel is doing what any other nation in the world, including the US, would do in the face of threats to the lives of its citizens.

Speaking at the Jewish News Syndicate (JNS) International Policy Summit on Sunday, Netanyahu said: “As long as we need to protect our people, we wil remain in the security zone in south Lebanon. And the reason is perfectly understood. No country would be asked to do otherwise. Now, you imagine the United States—across the border, you have thousands, an army of thousands of terrorists who pellet your cities and your towns with rockets and ballistic missiles and killer drones. They kill your soldiers, they kill your citizens, they kill your children. And they threaten them every day. Well, what would America do? Would it say, well, there’s nothing we can do? Let’s hold our fire? Is that what America would say?”

“No, you know damn well what America would do. It would cross the border, create a security zone, kill the terrorists, and protect its people until the threat is removed. That’s exactly what we are doing. And let me tell you something else. No country would do it better. No country would do it better because the terrorists do not just target civilians, they also hide among their own civilians.”

Netanyahu also rejected US statements against Israel’s conduct in battle, including Trump’s remarks against Israel striking Beirut in response to Hezbollah attacks and Vice President JD Vance’s rebuke of  Israel that “you can’t just kill your way out of solving every single national security problem that you have.”

“No army goes to such lengths as the Israeli army to target terrorists and minimize civilian casualties,” Netanyahu said. ” We should be commended for it, not condemned.”

Last week, Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) made similar remarks about Israel’s defense of its citizens against Hezbollah.

(YWN Israel Desk—Jerusalem)