Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, on December 10-11, spoke during a working visit to the Elysée and the Council of Europe. You will find his speeches in their entirety.

Statement by Prime Minister Netanyahu at a joint press conference with French President Macron – December 10, 2017

“Thank you, Mr. President, my friend Emmanuel.
You are indeed a friend. I welcome the condemnations you have just expressed against the terrorist attacks against Israel and the Israelis. They are always inexcusable.
We are partners in the search for peace, security, prosperity and culture. We share so many things, so many goals, so many values, and I also think that in the whole of the Middle East, there is no country other than Israel which is on the front line and is fighting for these values that France cherishes, and which constitute its identity.
We cooperate in many areas, including security. As you know, this cooperation has saved many lives. Israel has provided valuable intelligence to many countries in Europe and many countries outside Europe, which has prevented dozens of horrific terrorist attacks, some of which you have unfortunately suffered. We fight together in this fight against barbarism, and you are a primary leader in this fight. Across the Middle East too, your efforts in Lebanon are to be commended; your efforts to prevent the spread of Iranian aggression are to be commended.
Does this mean that Emmanuel Macron and I agree on everything? Not yet, we are working on it. It's a question of time.
But it's a pleasure to see you again, in Paris. Paris is the capital of France. Jerusalem is the capital of Israel. It has been the capital of Israel for 3000 years. It has been the capital of the Jewish state for 70 years. We respect your story and your choices, and we know that as friends, you respect ours. I think it is also essential for peace. I think peace needs to be built on the foundations of truth, on the facts of the past and on the present. This is the only way to build a pluralistic and prosperous future.
There is an effort, continually in the forums of the UN, UNESCO and elsewhere to deny the Jewish people's millennial connection to Jerusalem. It's absurd. You can read it in a very beautiful book, it's called the Bible. You can read it after the Bible. You can hear it in the story of Jewish communities in our Diaspora, 'Next year in Jerusalem, next year in Jerusalem.' Where is the capital of Israel other than Jerusalem? Where is our Knesset, our parliament? Where is our supreme court, the seat of our government, the prime minister's office, the president's office? It's not in Beer Sheva, it's not in Ashdod. They are marvelous cities, but it is in Jerusalem. It has always been our capital. And Jerusalem has never been the capital of any other people. I think the sooner the Palestinians accept this reality, the sooner we will move towards peace.
That's why I think President Trump's announcement was so historic and so important for peace. In pursuit of peace, the United States is making earnest efforts. And all I can say, as I said to President Macron, I think, if you will, that we should give peace a chance, bringing things to historical truth, opening up the possibility new negotiations. Renewed initiatives.

Now, peace requires not only that you recognize reality, but also that we fight aggression. President Macron and I agree that we must end the main source of aggression in the Middle East, which is Iran. Iran is everywhere. In Iraq, Syria, Lebanon already for a long time, where the president is trying to change the situation validly, by taking a real initiative that we appreciate and support. Iran is in Gaza, in Yemen. We must do what we can to stop Iran.

What Iran is trying to do with Israel, apart from openly calling for our annihilation, are two new things.
The first is to entrench itself militarily with ground, air and naval forces in Syria, with the declared aim of fighting and destroying Israel. We will not tolerate this. We will back up every word we say with action.

The second thing that Iran is trying to do is to put missiles inside Lebanon.
game-changing, precision-guided missiles, to manufacture and add more than 100.000 missiles and rockets, to add precision-guided munitions, thousands of these weapons, posing a real danger to Israel, its cities and its inhabitants. We will not tolerate that either.

We look to responsible leaders and important leaders like you, dear President Macron, to help us roll back any risk of aggression, to help us give peace a chance. Not just with our Palestinian neighbors but across the region.

Across the region there has been a shift, as many Arab countries recognize that Israel is not their enemy but their indispensable ally in combating the two sources of militant Islam and its terror: the Sunnis led by Daesh, and militant Shiites led by Iran. There is a blessing here, because it could help pave the way for ultimate peace between us and our Palestinian neighbors as well as between us and the rest of the Arab world.

Above all, I am not abandoning the Iranian people. I talk to them periodically. And I know they want to see a change too. But that will be further in the future. Today, our job is to prevent aggression and to give peace the chance it deserves.

In this, President Macron, Emmanuel, you are an indispensable partner.”

I thank you again for your hospitality, for your friendship and for your efforts. “

Prime Minister Netanyahu's remarks at the European Union Foreign Ministers meeting: Brussels

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was welcomed by Federica Mogherini, High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy on Monday, December 11, 2017, at the European Council headquarters in Brussels, and made the following remarks:

“Thank you for this invitation, Federica, as well as the Lithuanian Government, and I am happy to be here.

Europe and Israel are important partners in three main areas: security, prosperity and peace.

In terms of security, the Israeli intelligence services have prevented dozens of terrorist attacks, many of them on European soil, and I believe that countless lives have been saved thanks to this well-known cooperation of the security services of many governments Europeans. We will continue to do so as part of our common fight against terrorism.

Similarly, I think the biggest problem facing Europe is the flow of people fleeing war-torn areas in the Middle East, and the Middle East is threatened by both ISIS, the militant Sunni Islam and militant Shia Islam, led by Iran. Israel is the strongest power in the Middle East preventing the spread of militant Islam, not only preventing ISIS attacks in Europe, but also preventing the collapse of many parts of the Middle East adjacent to Israel that would be otherwise taken over by these Islamist militants, leading many, many, many to flee by the millions to Europe.

So obviously we do it to protect ourselves, but in doing so I believe that Israel fulfills a very important security function for European citizens in a way that is not always understood, but which seems increasingly more appreciated by the governments concerned.
The second point is prosperity. We are in a revolution, a great revolution at the global level. The future belongs to those who innovate. Ten years ago, the top ten global companies included five energy companies, one IT. In the space of a decade, that's been completely reversed: five IT companies are now in the top 10, one oil company is gone, dropping from number one to number five.

The revolution is big data, artificial intelligence, connectivity, the net. New industries are created out of nothing. Israel now has an automobile industry. He had never had one. Europe has many automotive industries. Our auto industry is receiving tens of billions of dollars in investment, including $15 billion a few months ago when Intel bought an Israel-based automatic vehicle company. We didn't have that. We have 500 startups working in the autonomous vehicle sector; of Waze and crowdsourcing (participatory production) which are important, which are changing the face of transport. This is only an example.

Digital health – another example being developed in Israel; precision agriculture, IT and cyber-industry: Israel has just received a 20% share of global private investment in the cyber-security sector. Can we live without cyber security? Can you protect your bank accounts, your power grids, your civil aviation, your cars in the future? You need cyber security: Israel is a global partner.
Therefore, the partnership between Israel and Europe is vital; in my opinion, it's important not only for us – it's clear, I wouldn't be here otherwise – but I think it's important for Europe. And many, many countries around the world understand that Israel is the innovation partner and that innovation is the future. So that's the second point.
By the way, we have also found gas and have just concluded a memorandum of understanding with some European countries: Cyprus, Greece and Italy, this may be familiar to you. We are currently studying the laying of a gas pipeline from our offshore gas fields to Italy. This would, I think, be very important also for the European economy. In innovation, energy and everything else, we believe that we are your natural partners.

The third point is peace. Israel has reached out for peace with our Palestinian neighbors for 100 years, long before the State of Israel existed and after it was established. And for 50 years, before there was a single settlement or even a single question of territory, we were under constant attack.
We were attacked not because of this or that territory, but because of the idea that any territory, where there would be a Jewish state, a nation state for the Jewish people - in any limit – would be rejected by our neighbors. This is what led to the conflict, and this is what continues it. You see it in the continued denial, unfortunately, by the Palestinians of Israel's right to exist as a Jewish state, and in the denial of our history.
For 3.000 years, Jerusalem has been the capital of the Jewish people, from the time … established by King David, well documented in Bible history, and until those terrible aftermaths, when the Jews of the ghettos of Europe whispered: “Next year in Jerusalem, next year in Jerusalem.” We never lost that connection.

Yet this connection is denied in UN forums, at UNESCO, in laughable decisions that seek to deny history and historical truth.

Jerusalem has been the capital of Israel for the past 70 years. I think what President Trump has done is put the facts squarely on the table. Peace is based on reality. Peace is based on recognizing reality, and I think the fact that Jerusalem is the capital of Israel is clearly evident to anyone who visits Israel, sees where the seat of our parliament, the Knesset, the seat of our government, the Office of the President, the Supreme Court. Jerusalem is the capital of Israel. Nobody can deny it. This does not avoid peace; it makes peace possible, because recognizing reality is the substance of peace, it is the foundation of it.

There is now an effort underway to present a new peace proposal by the US administration. I think we should give peace a chance. I think we should see what is presented and see if we can move that peace forward. But if we have to initiate it I will start with this: recognizing the Jewish state. It has always been about the Jewish state. And it's time for the Palestinians to recognize the Jewish state and also recognize the fact that it has a capital. It is called Jerusalem. I believe that even if we do not have an agreement yet, that is what will happen in the future. I believe that all – or most European countries – will move their embassies to Jerusalem, recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital, and engage strongly with us for security, prosperity and peace.

I therefore thank you for giving me the opportunity to present these points of view which, I am sure, will give rise to lively discussions with the Ministers of Foreign Affairs. This is a precious, important opportunity. Europe is important, that's why I'm here.