PM: Enemies massacre us for defending ourselves

Netanyahu honors Israel's nearly 2,500 citizens who have died in terror attacks at official Remembrance Day ceremony at Mount Herzl in Jerusalem; vows to "pursue the terrorists and strike them in every place."

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu at Yom Hazikaron ceremony (photo credit: Screenshot Channel 10)
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu at Yom Hazikaron ceremony
(photo credit: Screenshot Channel 10)
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu spoke at the Remembrance Day ceremony for the victims of terror attacks at Mount Herzl in Jerusalem on Monday, saying that Israel's enemies "massacre us, and criticize us for defending ourselves."

Netanyahu, who earlier spoke at the official ceremony for fallen soldiers, said that Israel's nearly 2,500 citizens who had been killed in terror attacks had made the State of Israel possible like its fallen soldiers.The prime minister said that the history of the Zionist project had been filled with terrorism against it, but added that, "we will not give up and we will pursue the terrorists and strike them in every place."Netanyahu referred to the terrorists as "sub-humans," who would use any means to hurt Israel.He said that he had recently spoken to Rachel Biton, whose 3-year-old daughter was fighting for her life after being injured by stone-throwing Palestinians near Ariel last month. The attack, Netanyahu stated, was proof that a stone is a deadly weapon and stone-throwing is terrorism.President Shimon Peres laid a wreathe for the victims of terror attacks following Netanyahu's speech as did Netanyahu himself and several other officials.Israelis observed two-minutes of silence on Monday morning as a siren rang out across the country in honor of Israel's fallen soldiers.Traffic stopped on highways and people halted their work days to observe the moment of silence on Monday at 11 a.m., after Remembrance Day was launched on Sunday evening with a one-minute siren.More than 1.5 million Israelis are expected to visit military cemeteries, and the Defense Ministry has organized hundreds of buses to transport people.