A prime minister must not promise things that can't be fulfilled.

The military operation in Lebanon was the most successful military operation in recent Israeli history. Many in Israel don't recognise that.

There is nothing that I'd love to do more than negotiate with Palestinians. This is my desire. This is my dream. This is my mission.

I think the attempt to draw a comparison between Iran and Syria is false, misleading and dangerous.

We can never totally return to the indefensible pre-1967 borders, ... We simply cannot afford to make Israel 14.48 km (9 miles) wide again at its center. We can't allow the Palestinians to be a couple of [miles] from [Tel Aviv's] Ben-Gurion Airport in the age of shoulder-fire missiles with the capacity to shoot down jumbo jets. But that doesn't mean we must remain in every corner of the West Bank or in Gaza, where fewer than 10,000 Jews, living next to 1.3 million Palestinians, have been protected by twice as many soldiers.

Leadership is tested not by one's capacity to survive politically but by the ability to make tough decisions in trying times.

Iran is a major threat to the well-being of Europe and America just as much as it is for the state of Israel.