Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Photo: YouTube screenshot.

“In the Middle East, and in many parts of the world, there is a simple truth — there is no place for the weak,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared on Wednesday. “The weak crumble, are slaughtered and are erased from history while the strong, for good or for ill, survive. The strong are respected, and alliances are made with the strong, and in the end peace is made with the strong.”

Netanyahu was speaking at a ceremony renaming the nuclear research center in Dimona after the late Israeli statesman Shimon Peres.

“We are working to prevent Iran from establishing a military presence in Syria,” the prime minister said. “We will not relent in pursuit of this goal just as we did not relent in bringing about the cancellation of the bad nuclear agreement with Iran, a goal which was seen as impossible when I put it on the international agenda for the first time several years ago.”

“In the diplomatic sphere, we will continue to apply pressure on the dangerous, extremist regime in Iran,” he continued. “Just yesterday we saw the fruit of this pressure in remarks by the Iranian president who said that many among the Iranian people have lost hope in the future and strength of Iran due to the resumption of economic sanctions.”

“In the military sphere,” Netanyahu added, “the IDF will continue to take strong and determined action against Iran’s attempts to station forces and advanced weapons systems in Syria. No agreement between Syria and Iran will deter us; neither will any threat deter us.”

“Whoever threatens us with destruction puts himself in similar danger, and in any case will not achieve his goal,” he emphasized.

Referring to his country’s growing behind-the-scenes ties with a number of its neighbors, Netanyahu said, “This process, of normalization by leading countries in the Arab world with the strong State of Israel, is happening before our eyes on a scale that would have been impossible to imagine a few years ago. This process bears hope within it that, in the end, the cycle of peace will be completed. But it is impossible to deny the fact that there are yet many enemies in this region and beyond.”

These enemies, he went on to say, “know very well what Israel is capable of doing. They are familiar with our policy. Whoever tries to hurt us — we hurt them.”

“I am not spouting slogans,” Netanyahu stated. “I am describing a persistent, clear and determined policy. This is our policy. It is backed by appropriate deployment, equipment, preparedness and — in the hour of need — appropriate orders.”