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Netanyahu: Lessons of the Yom Kippur War

(Prime Minister's Office) Addressing a special Knesset session Tuesday marking the 40th anniversary of the Yom Kippur War, Prime Minister Netanyahu said: The first lesson [of the Yom Kippur War] is to never underestimate the threats and never underestimate the enemy. Never ignore the warning signs. The second lesson is that the option of a preemptive strike cannot be automatically dismissed. The major difference between the Six-Day War and the Yom Kippur War...[is that] in the Yom Kippur War, despite the warning signs, the government chose to absorb the full force of the enemy's attack. The third lesson is the strategic importance of buffer zones. Our presence in the Golan and the Sinai enabled us to prevent infiltration deep into the territory of Israel....It was clear that in the peace negotiations with Egypt, the Sinai Peninsula would have to be demilitarized. There is a fourth lesson as well. Peace is achieved through strength....Our neighbors learned that they could not defeat us by force. Peace can only be achieved if the hostile countries around us understand that Israel is powerful enough and that it will not disappear and will not be uprooted.
2013-10-16 00:00:00
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