Two years after that day of horror, Israel rises like a lion: scarred but unbroken, wounded yet undefeated, victorious and vigilant. And to our last hostages, we can finally say: “Free at last, free at last, thank God Almighty, you are free at last.”

Two years ago, hell descended upon us.

We saw, before our very eyes, families burned alive; children massacred before their parents, parents before their children; women raped and tortured; elderly women kidnapped and dragged into Gaza to the cheers of ecstatic crowds. We saw the terrified look of Shiri Bibas trying to shield her two little boys, Ariel and Kfir.

All this was filmed on GoPro cameras—with laughter.

On one of the terrorists was found a note: “Sharpen your blades and be pure in your intentions before Allah. The enemy is a disease with no cure except beheading and uprooting the hearts and livers. Attack them!”

That same day, Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, congratulated Hamas. Hamas leaders in Doha praised the slaughter as they watched it live on television. The next day, students at Harvard published a letter blaming Israel. Soon after, the UN Secretary-General António Guterres declared before the Security Council that October 7 “didn’t happen in a vacuum.”

And as soon as Israel began to fight back, we were accused of genocide. Thus, the people who were victims of atrocity became accused of atrocity; the survivors of massacre were branded the perpetrators of massacre. Demonization seeks to justify the murder of Jews. Defamation seeks to strip Jews of their right to self-defences.

Even though the war has ended, the struggle has not.

Iran and its proxies have been diminished, not destroyed. Hamas has not been fully disarmed. The hatred of Jews, and of their state, is still alive—and still killing. We may rejoice in victory, but we dare not rest.

That victory was won by our soldiers: 913 gave their lives to free the hostages and to keep us safe. Let us bow our heads before them. We owe them not only our safety, but our very future.

Victory was also forged by the resilience of Israeli society and the steadfast support of the Jewish Diaspora. And it required leadership. Despite justified criticism, Prime Minister Netanyahu stood firm under immense pressure, refusing to end the war without victory. By striking Iran, he reached his Churchillian moment. President Trump, too, kept his word: he used the military option against Iran with precision and resolve. Thanks to him, our hostages are free.

Others must be thanked as well: Ron Dermer, who worked tirelessly with Washington; Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, who fought unceasingly for the hostages; Gideon Sa’ar, who chose to join the government at a turning point of the war and who had led Israel’s diplomatic struggle with resolve.

Now is the time to embrace those who have returned from hell; to comfort the bereaved families; and to heal the visible and invisible wounds of our soldiers.

Two years after that day of horror, Israel rises like a lion: scarred but unbroken, wounded yet undefeated, victorious and vigilant. And to our last hostages, we can finally say: “Free at last, free at last, thank God Almighty, you are free at last.”

Jean-Noël Barrot claims that his country’s lead on the recognition of Palestine has isolated Hamas. He misunderstands that Hamas and the PLO share the same goal and only differ on strategy.

This past Friday, the UN general assembly (UNGA) passed a resolution calling for “a peaceful settlement of the question of Palestine.” It was approved by 142 countries, including China, Iran, Myanmar, Russia, and Sudan. No doubt, the Tibetans, the Kurds, the Rohingyas, the Ukrainians, and the Darfuris will be glad to learn that those five governments believe in self-determination, in human rights, and in international law. This is the UN in a nutshell: an organization that was established by the Allies to prevent a return to the might-is-right policies of the 1930s, and that has been highjacked by autocracies to fight the free world with its own ideas and tools.

The resolution endorses the so-called New York Declaration, published jointly by France and Saudi Arabia in July. The declaration condemns Hamas for the October 7 massacres, but it also condemns Israel for responding to those massacres. This is a typical example of the UN’s moral equivalence, in that case between atrocities perpetuated against civilians by Jihadists with genocidal intent, and a democracy fighting those Jihadists to defeat them and to get back its hostages while respecting the restrictions of international law.

The resolution says that Israel must end the war, and that Hamas must abandon power and lay down its arms. Those two statements are self-contradictory, because only the Israeli army can bring about the defeat and the capitulation of Hamas. Hamas is not going to give up power and its weapons just because a UN general assembly resolution says it should. The declaration says Hamas must transfer power and weapons to the Palestinian Authority (PA) even though, in 2007, Hamas took over the PA regime in Gaza by force. By what logic would it now return it to the PA?

The New York Declaration also says that the State of Palestine will be demilitarized and democratic. This statement does not even pass the laugh test. Under Hamas, the Gaza Strip had become a huge military complex built by Iran and funded by Qatar. The fate of the West Bank would have been identical if Israel had withdrawn from it, and it will become identical if Israel were to withdraw from it. As for democracy, the PA was established 30 years ago, and it has never been democratic. Why would that change with full statehood? There are 21 Arab states today. None of them is democratic. By what logic would a 22nd Arab state led by the PLO be democratic?

Finally, the New York Declaration endorses UNGA resolution 194 from 1948, which the PLO sees as the legal basis for the so-called “right of return.” The PLO rejected the peace proposals of Ehud Barak in July 2000, of Bill Clinton in December 2000, of Ehud Olmert in September 2008, and of John Kerry in February 2014, precisely because those proposals did not include the application of the “right of return” to Israel itself.

What the PLO means by the “two-state solution” is the demise of Israel by establishing an armed state in the West Bank and Gaza, and by flooding Israel with millions of Arabs who claim descent from the refugees of 1948. This is exactly what the PLO decided in the “Phased Plan” adopted in Cairo in 1974, and this is what Arafat meant to do when he signed the Oslo agreements three decades ago.

So when French foreign minister Jean Noël Barrot says that Friday’s vote at the general assembly constitutes a defeat for Hamas, he’s being the PLO’s dupe because the PLO shares Hamas’ endgame though not its strategy. The PLO’s strategy consists of proceeding by phases, and of hiding the endgame behind international law, justice, and peace.

Mr. Barrot seems to not understand that most Israelis can no longer be fooled by this charade. A majority of Israelis agree that the PLO cannot be allowed to establish a 22nd failed, violent, and autocratic Arab state in Israel’s heartland, not least because the only purpose of such a state has always been, and always will be, to “free Palestine” from the River to the Sea.

Madam Prime Minister,

You have declared recently that your Israeli counterpart, Benjamin Netanyahu, is “a problem”; that the current Israeli government is acting against the interests of Israel; and that you intend to push for sanctions against Israel, drawing a parallel with Russia.

Imagine the reverse situation.

Imagine if Netanyahu had declared that Denmark would be better off without you; that your government is acting against the interests of Denmark; and that it was time, let’s say, for Denmark to grant full independence to Greenland.

The Danes would rightly be offended by such chutzpah.

Madam Prime Minister, it is for Israeli citizens and not for you to decide what are the interests of Israel. This is what elections are for. And in the previous elections, Israeli voters gave a majority to the coalition led by Benjamin Netanyahu.

By the way, I personally didn’t vote for that coalition. But today, I fully support Netanyahu’s commitment to victory. If he had given in to pressures, Iran’s nuclear program would be intact, Sinwar and Nasrallah would still be alive, and Assad would still be president of Syria.

Because, you see, the problem is not Netanyahu. The problem is the Jihadist coalition led by Iran that had been planning for years a coordinated attack against Israel with the declared purpose of destroying it. And, thankfully, Israel, under the leadership of Netanyahu, has mostly dismantled that coalition.

As for your comparison between Israel and Russia, it is both inappropriate and wrong.

Russia is the world’s largest country, and it has attacked Ukraine to partially restore the Soviet empire. It intentionally targets civilians and has zero regard for international humanitarian law.

Israel is half the size of Denmark. It was the one attacked in October 2023, and it is defending itself in accordance with international humanitarian law by allowing civilians to evacuate combat zones and by providing them with humanitarian aid.

Why do you think we’re still fighting? Because we enjoy it? No. Trust me, our reserve soldiers, our sons, would rather be pursuing their studies, running their businesses, and taking care of their families than blowing up tunnels in Gaza. But, you see, we still have 50 hostages there and Hamas hasn’t been defeated yet. Hamas would more likely capitulate if it were pressured and threatened by foreign powers. But why should Hamas release our hostages and lay down its arms when it sees that governments like yours only put pressure on Israel?

And Israel is fighting an enemy that is also yours: the same Jihadists that have made hundreds of victims in Europe in the past two decades. Those Jihadists are supported by Iran, which is an ally of Russia.

Many of your colleagues in Europe understand that. Which is why, by your own admission, you have not been able to convince all EU members to gang up against Israel.

Unlike you, those European leaders understand that Israel is not only fighting for itself but also for the free world.

And, unlike you, previous Danish leaders had a moral compass. We shall always remember the courageous stance of King Christian X and of the Danish people during World War II.

When victory comes — and it will come — we shall remember who stood by our side and who didn’t.