Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s remarks at the Announcement of Highway 60 as the Bible Road:
“We stand today in Gush Etzion, on the main road between Jerusalem – the Eternal City, and Hebron – the City of the Patriarchs. Here, on this good mountain, between the ancient stone and the olive tree, between the spirit of the Bible and the heroic spirit of our generation, the Victory Generation, we reaffirm: The people of Israel have returned home, and we will remain here forever, because this is our land. It is ours.
We have returned to our place of origin, to the path that our forefathers trod. And therefore, today, the Government of Israel is giving Highway 60 the name it deserves: the Bible Road. This is not merely a road paved with asphalt – this is a road paved with memory, with faith, with promise.
Highway 60 leads from the Negev to the Galilee. But in actuality, it extends much further. It leads from our patriarch Abraham to the soldiers of the IDF, from the generations of the Bible – to the generations of the future. It passes through the places where the great story of our people was written. Each of those places, without exception, is not merely a point on a map – it is a chapter of our identity. It is testament to us being an ancient people, reconstituting our national life in our historic homeland. Because the Bible Road is the root of our existence. Today, the pioneers are constructing here, as I saw just now, the chapter of the nation of Israel’s revival in its homeland.
We stand here, ladies and gentlemen, my friends, by virtue of the truth. This is our land. This is our heritage. This is our path.
Throughout the generations, our people have known, as this road knows, ups and downs. We have faced many challenges – and we have overcome them. In the War of Redemption, we achieved tremendous accomplishments against the Axis of Evil of Iran and its proxies. We fended off the danger of immediate annihilation, and had we not acted in the two massive operations – Operation Rising Lion and Operation Roaring Lion – with determination, with daring, and with the supreme heroism of our fighters and our pilots, Iran would today have the nuclear bombs for our destruction. But we did not let them.
Simultaneously, we also dismantled the Axis of Evil, the strangling noose that Iran tried to create around us. We are gripping Hamas in Gaza, where we hold over 60 percent of the Strip’s territory; and in Lebanon, we fended off the threat of a ground invasion from our communities and shattered Hezbollah’s missile power. There is more work to be done in both places, but we have done tremendous work.
True, the struggle is not yet over, and further challenges lie ahead. And these demand from us composure, a determined stance on our security interests, and at the same time, the preservation of our important bond with our American friends, who have fought alongside us shoulder to shoulder – and we appreciate that very much.
We will continue to navigate our path with wisdom and sound judgment; we will preserve the achievements of the Government, we will preserve the achievements of the war – these achievements belong to the entire people of Israel. Just as we have restored security and prosperity to the Gaza Envelope, we will restore security and prosperity to the communities of the North. This requires maintaining the security zone in southern Lebanon; it requires that we do not withdraw from there as long as Israel’s security needs demand it. Because this zone is the barrier between Hezbollah terrorists and our citizens and communities.
On a broader perspective, we will continue to pursue the supreme goal that has guided us, and has guided me throughout most of my adult life: Iran will not have nuclear weapons. And as long as I am the Prime Minister of Israel, that will not happen.
In unity of purpose, we will ensure our existence and our future; we will do so standing tall, with firm resolve and with patience. Our path, the path of the nation of Israel, began thousands of years ago. And with God’s help, it will continue from the Bible into eternity – the eternity of Israel.”
— @IsraeliPM Jun 18, 2026
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