Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. PHOTO: REUTERS
"We appreciate the efforts of the international community to halt Iran's nuclear programme," Netanyahu said in a speech on the eve of Holocaust Day.
"But at no stage will we abandon our fate into the hands of other countries, even our best friends," he said, in an apparent reference to the United States whose Secretary of State John Kerry flew in to Israel on Sunday.
US President Barack Obama warned last month during his own visit to Israel that a nuclear Iran could never be contained and pose a danger to the entire world, reiterating he would not rule out military action.
Iran denies charges of developing the atomic bomb and insists its nuclear programme is solely for peaceful purposes.
"What has changed since the Shoah (Holocaust) is our determination and our capacity to defend ourselves with our own means," said the Israeli premier, who charged that Iran openly proclaimed an ambition to annihilate the Jewish state.
"The murderous hatred of the Jewish people has not disappeared from the world. It has changed face and become a murderous hatred of the state of Israel," he said at the Holocaust memorial in Jerusalem.
President Shimon Peres, at the same ceremony, said anti-Semitism was still alive in Europe. "Crises are again being exploited to create new Nazi parties, ridiculous but dangerous," he said.
COMMENTS (12)
Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.
For more information, please see our Comments FAQ
Israel without USA is zero so this Israeli PM's statement is nothing but a joke and hilarious comedy.......
@Ayesha Madam please improve your knowledge. Iran have vast reserves of Hydrocarbon Energy. If you compare unit cost of electricity (1 kWh), Nuclear energy is 2.6 to 5.0 times expensive than hydrocarbon type due to heavy investment in Nuclear reactors & fuel. India have 10 & Pakistan have 2 Nuclear power plants, because its logical for them. Just remove your religious lenses & you will not be bias for any one.
Gualam Rasool"Kuldeep sharma" New Delhi
Those Pakistani's who think that nukes provide protection and insulate you from war ignore the obvious. Didn't stop a Pakistani/India war - Arab/Israeli war(s) - China/Vietnam war - UK/Argentina war - or attacks against France, USA, Russia. The evidence is obvious - just inconvenient.
Loser Natinyahu: Spurned by US, now this claim sounds shallow, hollow, despicable. Please also stop receiving billion upon billions of Dollars as Charity and WELFARE from US. You produce nothing, but are beggars who have given a new twist to the concept of a WELFARE state!
The bogey of pressure on nucear states is no longer working! Libya was the first victim o this pessure, He gave up his loly pops and afte a period was cut down by the aggressive.forces. North Korea was also part of the axis of Evil, they did not give up and continued to stock up, while the clintonians kept on saying that North Korea does not have the weapons yet but has a program until last week. Chuck Hagel is the ist to pronounce that Noth Korea has the nuclear weapons with emphasis on NOW, and the missiles for delivery NOW, while a week before the sly John Kerry was saying that America will not accept North Korea as a nuclear country. Well they have accepted North Korea being a Nuclear armed country and have stopped sending their stealth bombers towards Korean islands. The same drama is being played with Iran, under pressure of continued sanctions! They are ools to outsamrt the 5000 years old civilisation with pressures. They can keep on guessing with the hope that Iran will blnk. Not a chance Iran declared policy is against nuclearisation of their military, and this is going to stay. Let the enemy try the aggression and experience what Iran is capable to defend their land. Israeli leadership has genuine concens from the Euopeans but it will be an overstretch or simple ignorance if they reckon that Iran or any other muslim country has underlying antisemit considerations.
Rex Minor
@cautious: Iran has signed but not ratified as U.S and some other countries. By this standard U.S too deserves sanctions. And fighting against a occupation force like Israel is by no way terrorist activity.
@Cautious.
who has used the nuclear bomb ? should that country ask others not to have this technology even for peaceful purposes ?
@Pak.
Issue has never been about peaceful nuclear power - Russia built Iran a nuclear power plant and offered to supply it with fuel. Issue has always been about Iran developing nuclear weapons - something it has signed an agreement not to do - something that the entire UN security council believes it is trying to do (hence the sanctions). . Iran has called for the destruction of Israel - actively supports terrorist organizations which call for the destruction of Israel - been caught lying to the IAEA so many times that even China and Russia no longer defend Iran. If you were Israel would you be concerned -- you bet.
Whatever you (Israel) are today is because of this friend you are referring to and the one you have not referred (UK). The middle east is changing fast and probably the current order will not long last. Arab Kings and you have started feeling the tremors. Therefore, you better think of alone for yourself as the western world is now sick of defending your illegal and immoral acts for the past 60 years.
Mr Cheema, Iran is not 1st , It is Pak for which whole thing is being started, from Korea to Iran which leads to Pakistan, but no war for Iran and Korea but leads to ...Pak only, and half they are succeeded half the mater left. wait watch and see..
After Iran they will go after Pakistan. It is in our interest to make sure Iran is strong.
That will be Israel who will change the face of world by making mistake of attacking Iran... if Iran could, he did it so..... Israel and other nation can be nuclear power that why not other countries, double standard people and nations...make fool of there own people and nation.