PM Binyamin Netanyahu opened the cabinet meeting this morning by addressing the recent earthquake that is plaguing central Italy.
“In Italy right now, a serious earthquake is taking place. I want to tell my friend Italian PM Matteo Renzi that Israel is geared and ready to send help to the best of its ability. We are serious about a high level of preparation for such incidents, such as that which happened at the parking garage in Tel Aviv. We are geared and ready to help our Italian friends.”
He added, “The State of Israel receives with blessing the Italian President, who arrived here yesterday. In another two weeks, Israeli President Reuven Rivlin will visit India - and, in coming months, I will visit Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Singapore, and Australia.”
He elaborated: “For three of these countries, this is the first time that they are to be visited by an Israeli Prime Minister. Next month, a Polish delegation will arrive for a visit with the Israeli government.”
“Israel’s international relations are developing in Asia, Africa, Latin America, and other places,” Netanyahu said. “We are aware of the fact that this development stems from Israel’s economic growth, on the one hand, and our security and intelligence capabilities, on the other. These two aspects enable the development and flourishing of our international relations. This doesn’t mean that we are not encountering challenges in international forums - as we saw recently with the scandalous decision at UNESCO - and it’s possible that we will encounter more at the UN.”
“I have no doubt that, even in international forums, and even in these scandalous votes, we saw change. Tanzania and Croatia basically torpedoed the practicality of the last UNESCO resolution - and this is an additional indication of the change happening with respect to [Israel’s international status, which grows] in direct proportion to Israel’s power,” Netanyahu asserted.
