[applause] with a brandnew shiny hasssy, this administration designated and stated its recognition of jerusalem as the undivided capital of the one and only jewish state. And we thank them for doing so, dont wait . We . [applause] indeed thank them for doing so. For we the jewish people, i say this to all of you here. We the jewish people recognize our sovereignty over jerusalem and the jewish state by way of the higher coordination, that is the god of abraham, isaac, jacob, rachel, and leah. [applause] now, it falls upon me to introduce to you the people who are engaged in the protection of that land, day and night. There is a phrase that is attributed. In a place where there is no humanity, strive to be a man, strive to be that humanity. Friends, when terrorists of hamas and hezbollah try to tunnel underneath the ground to murder our innocent citizens, when terrorists north and south launch rockets towards our children, our women, our elderly, and our infirm, when they seek to storm our borders in order to harm our people, there are those members of the Israel Defense forces who absolutely up in the minds the idea absolutely epitomize the idea of having a place where if the terrorists had their way, they would be no humanity, only murder, only bloodshed, only the spilling of the blood of jewish people. Introduce tothat i you today are the very embodiment of the humanity that our enemies seek to rid us of. And there is another phrase. Wish to have you escorted by throughout your time listening to these great defenders. As the International Community stands and seeks to defame and delegitimize the one and only jewish state and those who protect her, im reminded of the ds of our sages who said do not judge your fellow until you stand in his or her place. Friends [applause] let me leave you with this. When the soldiers of the Israel Defense forces stand fast on the border with the gaza strip or any other border, despite what anybody might ever tell you, make no mistake about it. Those soldiers, and i know this because i have stood in their shoes and i have stayed in their place, those soldiers are precisely the right people in precisely the right place at precisely the right time doing precisely the right things for precisely the right reason. They are defending and protecting the state of israel on behalf of all of us, and they deserve your unreserved thanks. [applause] please, please, in the way that only you can, join me in welcoming and listening to their names because they are the names of our heroes. The two individuals who will take to the stage, but who represent hundreds of thousands of other soldiers of our great Defense Forces. Please welcome Lieutenant Colonel amil avid and Lieutenant Colonel solo of the Israel Defense forces here in washington, d. C. [applause] it is an honor to be here tonight. Colonelis lieutenant amil. I am 30 years old and the head of the underground water branch of the northern command. [applause] i am an officer in the israeli army, but i have a surprise for you. I was born in the great United States of america. [applause] doing a diplomatic service, it is always good to be back. My history with tunnels goes back several years. In 2014, i became the commander of the special unit in the ivf combat engineering whose main task is to locate and destroy tunnels. 2014,weeks later, in july operation protective inside gaza begin. During the operation, we were able to locate and destroy 30 tunnels along the border with the gaza strip. [applause] unfortunately, during the operation, we lost one of our own, a soldier. May he rest in peace. He was killed in a clash with Hamas Terrorists in the northern gaza strip. I spent 18 days inside the gaza strip with the sole purpose of disabling mss tunnels, threatening the lives of the citizens. [applause] after thetwo years operation protective edge, our main focus was stopping hamas using toast to infiltrate israel and kill innocent people. During the two years, we made real progress. We have created a breakthrough in the ability to locate 20 more one, we haveone by destroyed the tunnels along the gaza border. All that. [applause] to a great thanks joint u. S. And israel technology. [applause] however, as it turns out, this was just the beginning of my experience with tunnels. Four years later, in 2018, during my time in the ivf command, i was chosen to open a new position in the northern command. Ivf decided to launch an operation to locate and destroy hezbollah tunnels on the northern border. The operation called operation Northern Shield. Hezbollah is a Terror Organization based in lebanon and funded by iran as a proxy in the middle east. Is prepared by a terrorist organization in order to attack the communities and the idea position in the area. Causing mass destruction and death inside israel. As part of the attack plan, hezbollah builds terror tunnels that cross into israel territory in order to transfer its forces quietly and quickly prior to the attack. Areollahs terror tunnels in violation of the Un Security Council resolution number 1701. After then 2006, second lebanon war, a resolution made with the primary goal of banning the activities of the organization in the south of lebanon. Course ended, i began to plan what can only be destroyed as the mission of my life, preparing and carrying out operation Northern Shield. The preparation was classified. Only a limited number of officers in the army knew of our plans. The goal of the preparation was to make the Necessary Technology and operational adjustments using the methods from the south to adapt it to the northern soil and hezbollah tunnels. At the same time, we had to keep it all secret. Keeps difficult for me to this mission a secret from my friends and family back home, and especially from my beloved wife, who during the entire preparation was pregnant. A month before the beginning of the operation, our first baby girl was born. My wife had to go through the entire pregnancy time alone while i was preparing for the operation. In fact, i nearly missed the birth of my baby girl. The operation began during the festival of hanukkah 2018. On the day of december 4. The operation began with complete surprise for the entire for a unit andy the infantry forces and many other forces. Our job was to win a clear victory. Operation Northern Shield was an , whose solecusing purpose was to protect the residents against hezbollah. During the operation, we located and destroyed six terror tunnels, which crossed the border into the territory of the state of israel. [applause] at the first night of the operation, we attacked the first tunnel. Looking atle we were the cameras inside the tunnel, a light suddenly came on and we saw two hezbollah terrorists who came to work in the tunnel. They did not understand what the camera was. We decided to detonate a small explosive device that we installed inside the tunnel in order to alert the enemy not to try this kind of activity again. You may have seen that specific encounter on our twitter. Destroyed days, we six [applause] be sure that we have well prepared this. Yeah. In just 42 days, we destroyed six tunnels on the northern before. S you see [applause] is a picture of hezbollah flagship tunnels as seen on cbn. This tunnel went 210 feet into israeli territory and begins almost a mile inside lebanon. Its depth is 240 feet below ground. Imagine the damage hezbollah terrorists would bring if they had used this tunnel. Exactly i and my brothers and sisters in the beaeli Defense Forces will the watchmen on the wall, standing guard and defending our country against all enemies. Forever. [applause] much. Nk you very [applause] i stand here today as a representative of idf and the state of israel, a state that is built on the principle of democracy and the freedom of religion, the only one in the middle east. The state of the jewish people in the Promised Land forever. [applause] despite the losses we have endured and the victories we have achieved, many threats remain against the state of israel. Enemies from the north and from the south continue to seek the destruction of the state of israel. They try above. They try on. They try below the ground. But we remain strong. Always in the defense of israel. [applause] i want to thank you all, and may god bless the United States of america, and god bless the state of israel. Thank you. [applause] today, i proudly stand before you as a representative of the idf, a representative of the state of israel, and a representative of the bond between our two nations, israel and the United States of america. [applause] i want to show you to share something with you. Commander make up any in the special counterterrorism unit deployed in somalia, leading an operation to capture a senior Islamic Jihad terrorist and his assistant in an area. We have been preparing this operation for weeks. And now the time has come. Follows and the Senior Commander is killed. His assistant realized and decided to come out fighting. As we move forward, we noticed he is carrying something. We are shocked to see that he is holding his own baby as a human shield. Of course, we did not open fire. And eventually, we captured him alive. But this moment is carved in my enemy as a symbol of the i have been fighting all my adult life. Honored guests, my name is Lieutenant Colonel. Im 37 years old, and im the commander of the 906th battalion of the idf. [applause] i have served in the israeli army for 19 years. Today, im in charge of training the next generation in the idf forces. I started my career [applause] i started my career in 2000 as an operator in the counterterrorism unit. You made it. You may know it. I thought in hundreds of operations, including ossified missions. I have captured terrorists who killed and threatened the citizens of the state of israel. I have seen achievements and victory as well as failures. Most of all, i have lost friends and comrades. Nevertheless, throughout my career and despite my natural attraction to the military profession, i never loved the concept of war. My lovely wife is sitting with you, with us today. Please stand up. So that everyone can see you. [applause] i love you, and i thank you. She is a former combat paramedic, who today runs her own business. On our first date, instead of talking about spring break like normal people our age, we changed notes about our military service. This is what happens in israel. We soon discovered that we had been stationed a few miles apart during an operation in gaza in 2008. Myself as a commander of a reconnaissance unit, and she has a premedica on reserve duty. , we have children that are five and six years old. [applause] i havehe past 10 years, taken part in all major operations in gaza. To give you a little background, you should know that since the year 2000, hamas has fired tens of thousands of rockets at israeli civilians. An israeli child born after the year 2000 in a Community Next to the gaza border does not know what peaceful life is. Amas spends its resources on wars and weapon instead of education, medicine, or the welfare of its citizens. Hamas has been digging into israel in order to kill as many israelis as possible. I fought in alleyways, buildings, underground tunnels. I have seen hamas and Islamic Jihadists use hospitals and committee centers to fire and launch attacks. I have seen them use their own people as a human shield. Faces many challenges. Hezbollah in lebanon, which is attempting to establish itself on the syrian border. Bashar assad, the syrian dictator who killed over half a million of his own people in a 10 year civil war, has now regained control of his country with xian militia. In somalia is trying to undermine the stability between israel and the Palestinian Authority on the borde. On the border, isis has occasionally tried to attack israel. And then there is iran with the massive army, the army intent on developing Nuclear Capability and longrange missiles. All while supporting and funding terrorist groups in the middle east to continue supporting the Islamic Revolution and destabilizing the region. Israel is the only democracy in the middle east. A nation, country with cheerful people. It is exciting to walk down the street of tel aviv, swim in the jordan river, tour the old city of jerusalem, and watch the sunrise. Israel and america share the same worldview and values. I have had the privilege of training with troops from the United States armed forces such as the marines, green berets, and u. S. Army rangers. This experience has taught me that we are both fighting the same. [applause] the same enemy. We are both shedding blood in the defense of those values. Thankofficer, i want to the members of the United States military. And i want you to thank them with me. [applause] thank you. Foruld like to thank you the honor of addressing you today. Your support and influence mean a lot to the people of israel and to the ability to defend ourselves. With a part to end of the vision of isaiah, chapter two. [speaking foreign language] but until the time will come, may god bless israel and the United States of america. Thank you, guys. [applause] thank you. Thank you. [applause] we are reconciled. Forever grateful. We pray for the peace of jerusalem. Lives, we show truth where there are lies, we show truth. Where there is hatred, we show love. We are peacemakers. We are the israel collective. [applause] it is truly my honor and my privilege to be here with jason, who this administration deserves a round of applause. [applause] thank you. Thank you. [applause] who President Trump has entrusted the future of middle east peace alongside jared kushner. Welcome, jared. Welcome back. Excuse me. Welcome, jason. Welcome back. Jason thank you so much. It is an honor to be here. I first encountered her during the campaign. Cufifirst encountered during the campaign. At a luncheon. I was amazed at the passion in the room. All the speakers were great but what really amazed me was there was a young man, my guess was about 19 years old. I had six kids at the time. My triplets were a year or two behind. He spoke so eloquently about israel, so beautifully, and with such an quibble passion. I thought to myself, how do we harness that and get all of our Young Children to speak that way about the state of israel . So im honored to be here. Thank you. We are all very curious. Having just returned from bahrain, what to you was the most Encouraging Development . Two things. L answer what was most encouraging and what was discouraging. We had a great conference. Jared kushner worked very hard with many of my colleagues in the u. S. Government to put together a 50 million package for the palestinians, jordan, egypt, lebanon if we are able to achieve a Peace Agreement. What was amazing was if you walked through the room throughout the hotel, israelis, arabs, palestinians, whatever it is of whatever religion or no religion, walked around with ease. They spoke with ease. They spoke about business. They spoke about the future. They spoke about what that could be. And that is really what i experienced over 2. 5 years working with ordinary people. To me, that was extremely encouraging. Discouraging, it is no secret that the Palestinian Authority chose to boycott the event. Not only that, they chose to completely undermine the event by encouraging people not to show up. But everybody came. I think that is a very big positive as well. What are the next steps . Jason two next steps. The obvious next step is how to unveil the political plan. Despite what some people are saying, this is only part one. There is no economic plan without a political plan. Similarly, there is no successful political plan without a very strong economic plan. President trump will decide the right time to do that. As far as the next step on the economic plans, this was billed as a workshop because we wanted to get feedback. We want feedback from the israelis, from the palestinians, from the region. So we will be spending the next period of time getting feedback to this plan that was put together to finetune it to get it right and then couple it together with the political plan. In terms of feedback, do you get the sense the palestinian street is ready for a deal . Jason i prefer to speak in terms of ordinary palestinians. The street is the street. I dont really know what that means. There are posters out there that try to give us information, but i will tell you in a totally, every palestinian i have met over the last 2. 5 years is anxious for this conflict to be gone. They asked for some of the same things you hear from the palestinian leadership, but they also have a different voice in private than they do in public. In the confines of my office or a suite in the king david hotel, where ever it is that i meet them, they speak about wanting to find creative solutions. They speak about wanting to get past the conflict in a way that embraces israel. But unfortunately, the freedom of speech that they have once they leave those rooms is significantly curtailed. So it is a little bit hard to gauge the street. We also have to differentiate between palestinians in the west bank and palestinians in gaza. You have 2 million or so palestinians in gaza suffering under the iron fist of hamas. It is very hard to get information out of gaza, real information. It is a great question to ask, but i do nothing anybody really has an answer to the question. That actually dovetails into my next question. In terms of hamass control of gaza, how much does this affect your plan for the palestinian prosperity . Jason let me zoom back a little bit because it affects the peace plan generally, which means it affects the peace prosperity idea. When i first started, some of my coll