​ (Communicated by the Prime Minister's Media Adviser)
 
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, this morning (Sunday, 15 January 2017), at the start of the weekly Cabinet meeting, made the following remarks:
 
"The conference convening in Paris today is a useless conference. It is being coordinated between the French and the Palestinians. Its goal is to try and force terms on Israel that conflict with our national needs. Of course it pushes peace further away because it hardens the Palestinian positions and it also pushes them away from direct negotiations without preconditions. I must say that this conference is among the last twitches of yesterday's world. Tomorrow's world will be different – and it is very near.
 
Today the cabinet will hear – and also approve – a proposal by the Agriculture Minister for a five year plan for the Bedouin population in the Negev. The goal is to make order in the Negev and also to integrate the Bedouin population into the Israeli economy – in education, infrastructures, employment and many other fields. I commend the Agriculture Minister for this important initiative; it has many incentives and much logic. I hope that it will also receive full cooperation from all the residents of the Negev.
 
Today we are also submitting two proposals to the Cabinet, two decisions that will strengthen technological innovation in Israel. The first decision will offer incentives to the high-tech sector to increase the number of engineers and scientists and to significantly boost the number of graduates in the relevant university departments.
 
I remind you that our main problem in the high-tech sector is meeting demand; to this end we need the very highest quality and trained personnel.
 
The second decision deals with smart transportation. We will remove impediments to this industry which is developing very quickly, and it will help implement smart transportation on Israel's highways."