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Tel Aviv [Israel], December 24 (ANI/TPS): At the start of the meeting of the Israeli cabinet on Sunday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expressed his appreciation for the American government's continued support during the ongoing war in Gaza but also stipulated that the US does not tell Israel what to do militarily.
Netanyahu updated his cabinet on a telephone conversation he had with US President Joe Biden Saturday night. "I appreciate the steadfast US position - which supports our war effort - in the UN Security Council," he said. "I told President Biden yesterday that we will fight until absolute victory - however long that takes. The US understands this." Denying reports that the American government is in any way forcing Israel to hold back in its assault on the Hamas terrorist organization in Gaza, Netanyahu told his cabinet ministers that such reports are "erroneous" and "incorrect." "Israel is a sovereign state," he said. "Our decisions in the war are based on our operational considerations, and I will not expand further. They are not dictated by external pressure. The decision on how to use our forces is an independent decision of the IDF and nobody else." As for the Israeli military's latest advances in Gaza, Netanyahu said, "As of today (Sunday), our forces have eliminated many thousands of terrorists. We are continuing with full force, until the end, until victory, until we achieve all of our goals: The destruction of Hamas, the return of our hostages and ensuring that Gaza will never again constitute a threat to the State of Israel." (ANI/TPS)
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