Netanyahu: We’ll act against our enemies in all arenas near and far

Israel will push back at its enemies both close and far from home, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said hours after Israeli fighter jets later struck a Hamas weapons manufacturing site in Gaza. The strike came in response to overnight rocket fire from the Strip into southern Israel.

“We will continue to act forcibly without all strength, in all arenas, near and far, in order to thwart our enemy's ability to harm us," Netanyahu said. “Those who try and harm us — their blood is on their own head,”

He reiterated Israel’s clear policy of retaliation when it comes to rocket fire from Gaza.

"We have a clear policy: strike terror with force, and deepen our roots in our country,” Netanyahu said as he explained that “in response to rocket fire into our territory, IDF warplanes attacked Hamas terror targets in the Gaza Strip this morning.”

Netanyahu's response to the clashes in Nablus

But he also stood behind the IDF for its Nablus raid to route out a terror cell that sparked armed clashes in which 11 Palestinians were killed and over 100 others were injured. The United States, the European Union and the United Nations all issued statements against that raid.

“We always say that we will settle accounts with those who harm Israeli citizens and IDF soldiers - and that is what we did this time as well. I would like to praise the Shin Bet and Amman for the accurate intelligence and the fighters who acted bravely and calmly under fire,”  he said.

Netanyahu also spoke out as Israel has had its eye on regional unrest and has continued in its diplomatic push against Iran. On Tuesday night he emphasized that only a credible military threat could thwart Iran’s push to produce nuclear weapons.

The budget, he said, includes funding to strengthen and equip the state of Israel against “Iran and other enemies throughout the coming years. This is a matter of supreme national importance.”