President Isaac Herzog yesterday, Wednesday, addressed an audience of senior policy figures, opinion leaders and journalists, at Chatham House \u2013 The Royal Institute of International Affairs, one of the world\u2019s most influential policy forums, in a wide-ranging conversation with the institute\u2019s Director, Bronwen Maddox.
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The President opened the discussion by holding up a photograph of two Israeli twin brothers, Gali and Ziv Berman, who marking their 28th birthday in captivity in Gaza. The musicians from Kibbutz Kfar Aza were kidnapped by Hamas on October 7.
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The President said: \u201cThis is Gali and Ziv. Their fate is unknown. They, and 46 other innocent hostages, are held in brutal captivity. The key to changing the entire future of the region \u2013 the only way to open the door to peace \u2013 is to bring the hostages home.\u201d
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President Herzog stressed that Israel has accepted every serious proposal put forward by mediators \u2013 including the United States, Egypt, and Qatar \u2013 but Hamas has repeatedly refused or stalled.
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\u201cIsrael is ready today for a full hostage deal and a ceasefire. But for that to happen, Hamas must simply say \u2018yes.\u2019 One rejection from a single Hamas leader is enough to block progress. That is the obstacle.\u201d
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Warning against recognition of a Palestinian state, the President noted: \u201cUnilateral recognition will not free one hostage, will not feed one Palestinian, and will only embolden Hamas and reward terror. Friends and allies can disagree, but such a step would dangerously distort the path to real peace.\u201d
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He underlined that Israel seeks a peaceful future with the Palestinians, but the day after must mean Gaza without Hamas.
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On aid and Gaza, President Herzog said, \u201cIn the past 24 hours alone, over 600 trucks of food and medicine entered Gaza, alongside air drops and water supplies. Prices of food are dropping sharply because aid is flowing. The tragedy is that Hamas hijacks aid for profit and for war \u2013 selling it back to the people at triple the price.\u201d
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He called for stronger international mechanisms to bypass Hamas and ensure aid reaches families directly.
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He stressed, \u201cThe big mistake of many countries is that they are making a huge mistake about who\u2019s their friend, who\u2019s their ally, or their enemy. We are fighting here to defend the free world. Israel is at the frontier of fighting jihadist civilization. We are defending Europe. We are defending western values and the free world with the blood and the tears of our sons and daughters and families. That\u2019s what we\u2019re doing. We\u2019re fighting an aggressive, barbaric enemy that has butchered, slaughtered, burnt, raped our citizens. And then some say that \u2018we want Israel out.\u2019 We have not attacked seven countries. We were attacked from seven corners of the earth by ballistic missiles, by the most advanced weapons supplied by Iran to the proxies who want to eradicate us.\u201d
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President Herzog concluded by reminding the audience that Israel\u2019s fight is not only for its own survival, but for shared democratic values: \u201cWe are defending Europe and the free world with the blood of our sons and daughters. Our message is simple: help us bring the hostages home, defeat Hamas, and build a future of peace.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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