Secretary Antony J. Blinken And Israeli President Isaac Herzog Before Their Meeting

PRESIDENT HERZOG: Good morning, Mr. Secretary. Welcome to Israel. I don't know if you know which dateline you're on, which hour of the day you are. You're -

SECRETARY BLINKEN: I was hoping you could tell me.

PRESIDENT HERZOG: Now you're traveling all over the world. I saw your interview at the World Economic Forum in Riyadh and I want to thank you for the strong support and the moral clarity in what you've said regarding the initiation of this terrible situation, the war that was waged upon us, the atrocities, as well as, of course, the plight of the hostages. We yearn for the immediate return of the hostages. It is and should be the top priority of the international community. I think this should be a unanimous decision of the international community that the freeing the hostages is an utmost priority.

And I would like to add in that respect as well and in other respects that whilst we are waging war to defend our citizens and to bring about a different future in the Middle East, our enemies and other elements are trying to kind of undermine the entire process by using international legal forums that were established in order to have a world order that pursues peace and pursues the values and norms that we all believe in in the modern world. Especially I mean the efforts done through the International Criminal Court. Israel has a very strong legal system, a very strong adjudication and law enforcement system, and it has pursued legal steps from the highest authorities in this land to any other citizen. We are very proud of it, and the rule of international law regarding complementarity is a basic world norm. And therefore, trying to use the International Criminal Court against Israel, which is fighting terror, is a clear and present danger to democracies and to free and peace-loving nations who pursue the norms of international law, and I call upon all our allies and friends to object and reject any such efforts.

Thank you very much and welcome.

SECRETARY BLINKEN: Well, thank you, Mr. President. It is always very, very good to be with you, even in these very difficult times. We are determined to get a ceasefire that brings the hostages home and to get it now, and the only reason that that wouldn't be achieved is because of Hamas. There is a proposal on the table, and as we've said, no delays, no excuses. The time is now, and the time is now long past due to bring the hostages home to their families.

At the same time, even as we're working with relentless determination to get the ceasefire that brings the hostages home, we also have to be focused on people in Gaza who are suffering in this crossfire of Hamas's making, and so focused on getting them the assistance they need - the food, the medicine, the water, the shelter - is also very much on our minds and in the work that we're doing. I look forward to discussing all of that with you and many more things as well. Thanks for seeing me again this morning.