Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivered a powerful speech while lighting Hanukkah candles with the Israeli Defense Forces.
At the candle-lighting ceremony, Netanyahu said Israel was under attack on two fronts, posing a threat to the existence of the Jewish State.
"It is being attacked by the terrorism of Hamas and the other terrorist organizations," Netanyahu said. "It is also under a diplomatic attack led by the Palestinian Authority, which is designed to deny us our very right to defend ourselves and seeks to deny us the legitimacy of our very existence."
During the first weekend of Hanukkah, both threats became pressing issues for Israel. The terrorist organization Hamas, which launched a rocket into southern Israel on Friday, was taken off the European Union's list of terrorist organizations. Meanwhile, the Palestinian Authority has been pressing for a United Nations Security Council vote on Palestinian statehood.
"We are not prepared to countenance the firing of even one rocket and we are responding accordingly and in strength," Netanyahu told the IDF audience.
With respect to the diplomatic assault at the UN, Netanyahu said the PA's proposal contained "unacceptable" conditions for Israel.
"Their proposal to unilaterally force on Israel the establishment of a Palestinian state as well as other conditions that are unacceptable to us," Netanyahu said. "We expect the responsible elements in the international community to reject this proposal; In any case, we will vigorously oppose it and will, of course, not act in accordance with any diktat."