(VIDEO AND PHOTOS IN EXTENDED ATICLE)

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu on Sunday, February 3, 2019, briefed a delegation of UN ambassadors who are visiting Israel, prior to their flight to a tour of the northern border.

Ambassador Danon explained to the media that the hope is the ambassadors will receive a true picture of the size of Israel, the threats the nation faces and then, upon their return to the UN, armed with this new reality, it will reflect their view vis-à-vis votes pertaining to Israel.

Prime Minister Netanyahu told the visiting delegation, “A great shift has taken place in the Middle East. That shift is the rise of the aggressive theocracy of Iran that seeks to conquer the Middle East, eliminate Israel and dominate many other parts of the world.

“Iran has proxies. One of them is Hezbollah. Hezbollah just joined the government of Lebanon. That’s a misnomer; they actually control the government of Lebanon. It means that Iran controls the government of Lebanon.

“It’s important to send this very powerful message just as we stop the terror tunnels coming into Israel, we will stop all the aggression; from Lebanon or from Syria or from Iran itself. We are committed to preventing this aggression, and in so doing we’re not only protecting Israel itself, but also protecting our neighbors and world peace.”

Israel is currently hosting a delegation of dozens of UN ambassadors from around the world for a five-day visit. The ambassadors have visited Jerusalem; later in the day, they visited one of Hezbollah’s tunnels on the northern border that was detected by Israel.

Earlier in the day, the delegation was greeted by President Reuven Rivlin, who commented, “The UN is the most important international forum for us and for the world, said the president, noting, “some UN bodies take unfair decisions about Israel. Double standards and discrimination must not detract from the UN’s important work.

“Change is in your hands,” the president emphasized. “Please ensure that our good bilateral relations are also how you relate to Israel at the UN.”

The delegation is led by Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations Danny Danon, and heads of the American Zionist Movement also participated in the visit.

Danon added: “Thank you, President Reuven Rivlin for talking with us ambassadors about the unique characteristics of the State of Israel and Israeli society. When we face attacks in the international arena, the truth is the best answer.”

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem/Photo Credit: Mark Neiman, GPO)