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By: JNS
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has done more to fight terrorism than Europe has done “in the last 70 years,” Geert Wilders, leader of the Netherlands’ largest party, said on Monday.
The remarks, addressed to Netanyahu by the Dutch right-wing leader, whose Freedom Party leads the European country’s ruling coalition, were made at the first official meeting between the two at the Prime Minister’s Office in Jerusalem.
Wilders, in a post on X, credited his “friend” Netanyahu with “crushing Hamas, pulverizing Hezbollah and significantly weakening Iran.”
The PMO confirmed that the premier sat down with “Geert Wilders, the Chairman of the Dutch Party for Freedom, the largest party in the Dutch Parliament,” but did not release a readout of the conversation.
Earlier on Monday, Wilders met with President Isaac Herzog, Defense Minister Israel Katz, Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar, Energy Minister Eli Cohen, Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana and other Israeli lawmakers.
Herzog told Wilders, “We greatly appreciate your unwavering solidarity with the Israeli people as we continue to work to free our hostages and to fight against the evil of terrorism in our region,” per Jerusalem.
Welcoming the Dutch politician in the plenary hall of the Knesset, Ohana stated in his English-language remarks, “I would like to welcome my dear friend, leader of the Netherlands’ Freedom Party, Geert Wilders, joining us today on yet another solidarity visit to Israel.”
“Wilders’s support for Israel and the Jewish people has been nothing short of historic. In his own words, ‘If Jerusalem falls, Athens and Rome, Paris, London and Washington will be next. We are here to make sure Jerusalem shall forever stand,’” concluded the speaker, followed by a long applause from lawmakers across the political spectrum.
On Monday morning, Wilders visited Samaria with Samaria Regional Council head Yossi Dagan, who spearheaded the invite to the politician.
As part of his tour, Wilders received a briefing “in the seam line area on the narrow ‘waist’ of the State of Israel, which illustrates the security importance of Samaria for the residents of the center of the country.”
Dagan told the visiting political leader: “There are only 70 kilometers [44 miles] from the Mediterranean Sea to the Jordan River, with the hills of Samaria dominating the area, accounting for 55 kilometers, [or 34 miles, of those 70 kilometers].” Wilders responded by acknowledging that this is “very small,” adding, “Not everyone will understand this, but I do.”
Wilders arrived in the Jewish state on Sunday for a 36-hour visit. He said he was “proud and privileged” to return to Israel after more than seven years, “meet their leaders and politicians and visit beautiful Judea and Samaria where I used to live for some time in the “80s.”
Wilders—a staunch supporter of Israel’s right to the entire Land of Israel from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea—resided in the Jewish state for two years during his youth and has reportedly visited the country more than 40 times. After he graduated from secondary school, he spent a year as a volunteer at Moshav Tomer in the Jordan Valley.
Last month, Wilders said that he would be pursuing police action after the plans for his trip were leaked to the media, allegedly by Dutch civil servants, which reportedly led to the postponement of his visit. Wilders has lived under strict 24/7 police protection since 2004, after receiving death threats over his criticism of Islamic terrorists and extremists.
(JNS.org)
