Far from committing war crimes, Israel’s ambassador to the United States says the Israeli Defense Forces “should be given a Nobel Peace Prize” for their efforts to protect innocent civilians in the latest Israel-Hamas conflict.

“Ladies and gentleman, Israel did not have to send its soldiers into many places they are fighting today,” Ron Dermer said Monday night at Christians United for Israel’s annual Washington, D.C. summit. “We could have given people time to evacuate these areas, which we did anyway, then bombed from the air all the buildings that are being used by fighters to store and fire weapons. But we didn’t. As we have done time after time, we are sending our soldiers into this hornet’s nest of Palestinian terror that is booby trapped with mines and riddled with subterranean tunnels.”

“Some are shamelessly accusing Israel of genocide and would put us in the dock for war crimes,” he continued. “But the truth is the Israeli Defense Forces should be given a Nobel Peace Prize for fighting. A Nobel Prize for fighting with unimaginable restraint.” (READ: 4 Facts About The Latest Israel-Hamas Conflict)

“One day when the enemies of Israel are defeated and the moral idiots are silenced, people will look back and marvel at how the most threatened nation on earth never lost its nerve and always upheld its values,” he added.

WATCH: Dermer’s full speech

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