Hamas and Israel's left are trying to scare Netanyahu. It's failing miserably

After receiving court approval to postpone his testimony, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivered a speech today in the Knesset plenum during a 40-signature debate on the rising crime in Arab society. He also touched on the war in Gaza and incitement from the left-wing camp.

Netanyahu opened by discussing government efforts against violence in the Arab sector: "We’ve brought billions to programs and education in the Arab sector. My government has allocated budgets for Arab society that are multiples higher than all previous Israeli governments combined. As a democrat, I believe every citizen has the same right to security. We saw this problem; I heard the families in the Knesset committee, and it truly touched my heart, not a show or anything else."

He added: "I established a committee under my leadership to address crime, and the first thing we did was increase the number of police officers we recruited by thousands. Most of them are being directed to tackle crime there. How does Arab crime work, beyond the violence? Mainly through the protection racket system. We legislated the Protection Law and set up two departments to actively deal with protection rackets. We need to, and can, overcome this scourge. I want to give a good word to the representatives of Arab society sitting here."

"For years, I established police stations and collected weapons [but] you opposed it. Now this change is welcome. At the initiative of Minister Ben-Gvir, we established the National Guard to deal with this issue. All this shows our policy is working."

Netanyahu then turned to the war in the south: "More and more Gazans realize that Hamas is bringing ruin and destruction upon them. All this shows our policy is working. We are determined to achieve all the war’s objectives: to eliminate Hamas’s military and governing capabilities, to bring back all our hostages, to ensure Gaza no longer poses a threat to Israel, and to safely return our evacuated residents to their homes."

Addressing criticism that he doesn’t speak with hostage families, Netanyahu said: "My wife and I regularly talk with the hostage families, including yesterday and this morning, constantly. Honest, heart-wrenching conversations, all the time. We carry their pain with us."

He continued: "Results matter. We’ve brought back 109 hostages. We’ve done a lot, but the mission isn’t complete. The more Hamas persists in refusing to release our hostages, the more powerful the pressure will be. This includes seizing territory and other things."

"The coalition today is more stable than it was at the start of the war, and it reflects the people’s will for a strong, victorious Israel. Israel must complete the victory."

Addressing left-wing protests against the government, Netanyahu sharply attacked the incitement against government members: "Israel was a democracy and will not have a civil war. Unfortunately, right now, there are those who are stoking division, hatred, and incitement even more. We’re seeing things we haven’t seen before, including violence against elected officials, threats of bloodshed. This comes from only one camp. Accusations of treason, which were once unthinkable to say, now uttered hourly."

"I stood on the balcony in Zion Square and said Rabin isn’t a traitor, but you say ‘traitor’ five times a day. To my friends in the opposition, again and again, you wave the scarecrow of democracy. Well, once and for all: democracy isn’t in danger: what’s in danger is the rule of the bureaucrats, the deep state. When I say ‘rule of the bureaucrats,’ I mean a small group fighting to keep the levers of power and control in their hands."

"My opposition colleagues, you back them because, in your view, the people’s will that chose us to lead the country has no value. To you, the greatest danger to democracy is democracy itself. In a democracy, the people are sovereign, and they demand that their vote at the ballot box be reflected in policy. Democracy isn’t the former officials or the studios—it’s the people, the sovereign, who want practical expression in policy and decisions. That doesn’t mean the government has unlimited power; we don’t have tyranny. But you can’t expect the government to be powerless. Democracy needs checks and balances."

"I heard the opposition leader say democracy isn’t majority rule. Well, I want to tell you: democracy is majority rule with checks and balances. There are debates and disagreements, as in all democracies. Tyranny and the small minority won’t overcome the large majority."