(VIDEO IN EXTENDED ARTICLE)

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu on Wednesday evening held phone consultation with Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman, IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-General Gadi Eizenkott, as well as with the heads of the Shin Bet and National Security Council due to increased rocket and shooting attacks from Gaza into southern Israel. Earlier Wednesday, an IDF officer was hit by Gaza sniper fire, leaving him moderately wounded.

Mr. Netanyahu on Thursday addressed border police and IDF paratroop Brigade recruits at the IDF Induction Base at Tel Hashomer. In his remarks, he addressed the tense situation along the borders.

Prime Minister Netanyahu told the recruits: “We are conducting difficult fronts – both in the south and the north. In the end the task of defending the borders of the state and the state itself falls on you. We trust you, we believe in you.

“You will undergo difficult and important training that will give you tools to defend yourselves and also the country and this is what I wish you. Defend the state and watch yourselves. Always look out for each other; each one of you also defends the other. I know that you will leave here different men, much stronger than you think, with a genuine contribution to ensuring the future of the State of Israel and this is a great mission. A great mission and I also want to say that you have a great privilege.”

In response to the recruits’ question about the situation in Gaza, PM Netanyahu added:

“We are in a campaign. This entails an exchange of blows but in the end, it is a test of willpower. We are exhausting every possibility, but we are very, very determined to defend our borders. We will do what is necessary to maintain our security, not just for the communities in the area adjacent to the Gaza Strip but for the State of Israel.”

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem/Photo credit: Haim Zach, GPO)