Benjamin Netanyahu Quotations

You can only end a negotiation for peace if you begin it.

My first name, Benjamin, dates back a thousand years earlier to Benjamin - Binyamin - the son of Jacob, who was also known as Israel. Jacob and his 12 sons roamed these same hills of Judea and Sumeria 4,000 years ago, and there's been a continuous Jewish presence in the land ever since.

First of all, Arafat is wrong. Jerusalem is Israel's capital, will never be divided, and will remain the capital of the State of Israel, the capital of the Jewish people, for ever and ever.

Peace is purchased from strength. It's not purchased from weakness or unilateral retreats.

The right combination is between a free economy and social policy that addresses the needs of society and creates equal opportunity.

We're willing to make difficult and hard decisions and compromises to live in peace with our neighbours, but we're entitled to our own country where Jews from around the world can come here, just as Palestinians from around the world can come to the Palestinian state.

I don't think you can rely on Iran. I don't think you can rely on other radicals like the Taliban. They dispatched Al Qaida to bomb New York and Washington. What were they thinking? Were they that stupid? They weren't stupid. There is an irrationality there, and there is madness in this method.

And by the way, a piece of news, Israel is the one country in which everyone is pro-American, opposition and coalition alike. And I represent the entire people of Israel who say, 'Thank you, America.'' And we're friends of America, and we're the only reliable allies of America in the Middle East.

The Palestinians want a state, but they have to give peace in return. What they're trying to do in the United Nations is to get a state without giving Israel peace or giving Israel peace and security. And I think that's, that's wrong. That should not succeed. That should, that should fail.

Most of the approaches to peace between Israel and the Palestinians, have been directed at trying to resolve the most complex problems, like refugees and Jerusalem, which is akin to building the pyramid from the top down.

Well, this is an unfortunate part of the UN institution. It's the - the theater of the absurd. It doesn't only cast Israel as the villain; it often casts real villains in leading roles: Gadhafi's Libya chaired the UN Commission on Human Rights; Saddam's Iraq headed the UN Committee on Disarmament.

Some will criticize me no matter what I do.

I always lose the election in the polls, and I always win it on election day.

You can't end negotiations unless you begin them. And you can't begin them if you continually negotiate about the terms to begin negotiations.

I've been right more than I've been wrong.

Israel is so tiny. It's, you know, a little less than the length of Manhattan, without the West Bank, without Judea and Samaria.

There is a fundamental situation in which the country has reached rock bottom, that a mother can't send her children out of the house in the morning. The country has reached rock bottom and this needs to be changed.

I often hear them accuse Israel of Judaizing Jerusalem. That's like accusing America of Americanizing Washington, or the British of Anglicizing London. You know why we're called 'Jews'? Because we come from Judea.

I don't want to govern the Palestinians. I don't want them as subjects of Israel or as citizens of Israel. I want them to have their own independent state but a demilitarized state.

I think placing preconditions before negotiations is the quickest way to undermine peace.

But so far, you know who's been violating the nuclear nonproliferation pact day and night? Those who signed it. Iran, Iraq, Libya and Iran violates it while calling for Israel's destruction and racing to develop atomic weapons to that end.

Our policy is very simple. The Jewish state was set up to defend Jewish lives, and we always reserve the right to defend ourselves.

Now, when we say we want peace, what we want is really for our Palestinian neighbours to have a demilitarized state next to us that recognizes the Jewish State. We're willing to recognize their state, the Palestinian state. But we ask them to recognize the Jewish state.

I don't think Israel can accept an Iranian terror base next to its major cities any more than the United States could accept an al Qaeda base next to New York City.

The State of Israel can be proud of what we're doing.

Both peoples, both nations, deserve a nation-state of their own. Palestinians, if they wish so, will go to the Palestinian state; Jews, if they so wish, can go to the Jewish state. And we'll have to have security and demilitarization agreements between us.

The purpose of the Jewish state is to secure the Jewish future. That is why Israel must always have the ability to defend itself, against any threat.

In my office in Jerusalem, there's an ancient seal. It's a signet ring of a Jewish official from the time of the Bible. The seal was found right next to the Western Wall, and it dates back 2,700 years, to the time of King Hezekiah. Now, there's a name of the Jewish official inscribed on the ring in Hebrew. His name was Netanyahu.

I can tell you one thing, Iran is closer to developing nuclear weapons today than it was a week ago, or a month ago or a year ago. It's just moving on with its efforts.

The greatest threat facing humanity is a radical Islamist regime meeting up with nuclear weapons.

Peace is something very dear. If you've been through wars and operations and battles, you want peace.

I say that to my colleagues, by the way, in the internal Cabinet meetings, I say, 'Look, I want to be very clear about what I want.' I just - I don't want a peace process, I want a peace result.

The world should be very clear about making sure that Iran does not get nuclear weapons, period.

The relationship between Israel and the United States is a bond of - it's just a very powerful bond. It was, it is, and will be and will continue to be.

I think that a strong Israel is the only Israel that will bring the Arabs to the peace table.

I am certain that I speak on behalf of my entire nation when I say: September 11th we are all Americans - in grief, as in defiance.

Hezbollah-controlled Lebanon now presides over the UN Security Council. This means, in effect, that a terror organization presides over the body entrusted with guaranteeing the world's security. You couldn't make this thing up.

I think that peace will require two states, a Palestinian state that recognizes the Jewish state.

So I think we should stay focused on the real problem in the Middle East. It's not Israel. It's these dictatorships that are developing nuclear weapons with the specific goal of wiping Israel away.

If we accept the notion that terrorists will have immunity because as they fire on civilians they hide behind civilians, then this tactic will be legitimized and the terrorists will have their greatest victory.

As far as a nuclear weapons-free zone, you know, when the lion lies down with the lamb, and you don't need a new lamb every day to satisfy the lion, then we might have this kind of transformation in the Middle East.

The Obama presidency has two great missions: fixing the economy, and preventing Iran from gaining nuclear weapons.

We don't point a pistol at our own forehead. That is not the way to conduct negotiations.

The rules of engagement have become so rigid that governments often straightjacket themselves in the face of unambiguous aggression.

There's no one in Israel who appreciates more than me the importance of American support for Israel.

Israel has always been pro-American. Israel will always be pro-American.

Certainly the international community is putting a lot of pressure on Iran and making clear that its nuclear program must stop. If it stops with the sanctions, the combinations of sanctions, diplomacy, other pressures, I, as the prime minister of Israel, will be the happiest person in the world.

President Abbas, you've dedicated your life to advancing the Palestinian cause. Must this conflict continue for generations, or will we enable our children and our grandchildren to speak in years ahead of how we found a way to end it? That's what we should aim for, and that's what I believe we can achieve.

The Israeli government has proved over the past year its commitment to peace, both in words and deeds. By contrast, the Palestinians are posing preconditions for renewing the diplomatic process in a way they have not done over the course of 16 years.

We want Israel as a democratic and Jewish state. So you have to maintain a Jewish majority, and you want to do that by legal means, by democratic means.

Why are we talking about talking? Why negotiating about negotiating? It's very simple. If you want to get to peace, put all your preconditions on the side, sit down opposite a table, not in a studio, by the way.

Those in the international community that refuse to put red lines before Iran don't have a moral right to place a red light before Israel.

You don't have people chanting 'Death to America' in Israel.

Israel has, enjoys bipartisan support - both Democrats and Republicans - and we extend bipartisan hospitality to both Democrats and Republicans.

My level of intervention in the press, trying to control stories, is zero. Subzero.

You know, I'm just not going to get into American politics.

The application of military force, or the prospect of such application, inhibits terrorist violence.

I'm the prime minister who removed 400 checkpoints, barriers, road-blocks and so on to facilitate the growth of the Palestinian economy.

Israel produces more conceptual products than any other country.

I will say that I think Israel enjoys strong bipartisan support in the United States. It's really above and beyond American politics.

The Iranian acquisition of nuclear weapons would be infinitely more costly than any scenario you can imagine to stop it.

There's an abiding interest by the United States, by the American people, and by anybody with his eyes set in his head, to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons.

If they do it, I cannot tell you how much time we would take, ... The faster they do it, the faster we will redeploy.

lead to a real peace, a lasting peace, not a minute-long peace.

So, I think that has to be resolved when we have a real political partner, and I think we will,

I am calling on all those who grasp the danger: gather strength and do the right thing. I don't know if the entire move can be stopped, but it still might be stopped in its initial stages.

He has created a precedent that will lead to the division of Jerusalem. My starting (my campaign) here is not coincidental because Jerusalem is in danger.

Like us, the United States wants the talks resumed, ... I don't know if Syria wants it. We are looking for a solution in words.

I will not lose, despite massive brainwashing by the press and its attempt at demoralization,

It is, in fact, the failure of the Palestinian Authority and of Mr. Arafat to keep the pledge that he gave my predecessor, Mr. Rabin, and that is we give them territory, they give us a pledge to fight terrorism,

Our goal is to be effective, and the only way to be effective is to work with the Israeli government.

Time is running out ... We have to act responsibly in a united front.

We are not susceptible to pressure. We will do what is right,

We aren't ready to accept that murderous acts will be part of our daily lives every few weeks and months ...

You know, I said in the U.N., I said to President Abbas, 'Look, we're in the same city, we're in the same building, for God's sake, the U.N. Let's just sit down and begin to talk peace.'

We have reached the moment of truth today, ... There is a way to achieve peace and security, but a unilateral withdrawal under fire and with nothing in return is certainly not the way.

Once we squeeze all we can out of the United States, it can dry up and blow away.

To defeat ISIS and let Iran get nuclear weapons would be to win the battle and lose the war,

The truth is that if Israel were to put down its arms there would be no more Israel. If the Arabs were to put down their arms there would be no more war.

We [Israel people] always blame Moses, that he was our greatest leader and one of the most gifted people in the world. He brought us the moral code and so on, belief in one God, but then he was a bad navigator. He brought us to the only part of the Middle East without any gas, without any oil.

The Nazis believed in a master race. The militant Islamists believe in a master faith.

This is why, as a prime minister of Israel, I can promise you one more thing. Even if Israel has to stand alone, Israel will stand. But I know that Israel does not stand alone. I know that America stands with Israel.

You can make peace with an enemy, if the enemy abandons the idea of destroying you. That is the critical test. Democracies fail to understand that.

The enemy of your enemy is your enemy!

In order to restore security for Israeli citizens, every home, mother and child in Israel, and to establish a stable and strong government that will unite the nation...I hereby declare my candidacy for the Likud party leadership and premiership of Israel.

Everything should be done to prevent Iran, the world's most dangerous regime, from developing the world's most dangerous weapons.

American leaders worry about the security of their country. Israeli leaders worry about the survival of their country.

When I say that terrorism is war against civilization, I may be met by the objection that terrorists are often idealists pursuing worthy ultimate aims -- national or regional independence, and so forth. I do not accept this argument. I cannot agree that a terrorist can ever be an idealist, or that the objects sought can ever justify terrorism. The impact of terrorism, not merely on individual nations, but on humanity as a whole, is intrinsically evil, necessarily evil and wholly evil.

If Iran wants to be treated like a normal country, let it act like a normal country.

If the Arabs put down their weapons today, there would be no more ‎violence. If the Jews put ‎down their weapons ‎today, there would be no ‎more Israel'‎

In the frameworks of a peace agreement, a government under my leadership would agree to make real territorial concessions but will not compromise our security borders. We want there to be less friction. We want to remove outposts to help the Palestinian population. We will not reoccupy the Palestinian population.

If there is willingness on the Palestinian side to reach an agreement, it is possible. We are conducting the negotiations with goodwill.

If the Palestinians do their part, we shall do our part and we shall have an agreement.

I think that anyone who moves to establish a Palestinian state and evacuate territory gives territory away to radical Islamist attacks against Israel.

While Israel is prepared to make generous compromises for peace, it cannot go back to the 1967 lines.

[S]aving lives is more important than preserving the quality of life. Quality of life is always amenable to improvement. Death is permanent.

The idea of imposing peace from the outside doesn't work.

We will respond with a heavy hand to the brutal murder of Jews who came to pray and were killed by lowly murderers.

...but I know that Israel does not stand alone. I know that America stands with Israel.

Anyone who is going to establish a Palestinian state, anyone who is going to evacuate territories today, is simply giving a base for attacks to radical Islam.