Israeli President Yitzhak Herzog visited kibbutz Be’eri this morning (Sunday), touring the ruins of the houses left behind after the massacre carried out in the kibbutz a week ago. The President also launched the renewed opening of the “Be’eri Print” plant.
President Herzog at Be'eri. (Photo: Avi Kanar, Government Press Office)
Against the background of the ruined buildings, the President said: “This land is soaked in blood. There was life here, there was a heaven that became hell. We have a moral and national duty to restore it to being a heaven. This is an enormous duty. It is a duty to remember them, a duty to the families, a duty to return the captives home as soon as possible.”
“It is terrible to see this place. We see the intensity of the monstrous, terror-inducing cruelty of the enemy. We need to understand that this enemy must be punished to the fullest extent. This enemy must be destroyed with full force.”
When launching the press, the President said that “out of the bereavement, the tears, the terrible pain, and the darkness we are in is this settlement, and all the settlements around us. From here we tell the whole world: nothing will break us,” he said, “This press is the glory, the source of pride of kibbutz Be’eri, we tell the world: we are not leaving here, we will slowly but surely get life back on track and return to prove to the whole world, including our enemies – you will never break us. Al Yisrael Chai.”
Later on, the President met with IDF soldiers deployed throughout the sector and sought to strengthen them and thank them for their heroism, a symbol and marvel of their determination to win the war.