​(Communicated by the Prime Minister's Media Adviser)
 
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, this morning (Thursday, 12 January 2017), met with Norwegian Foreign Minister Borge Brende.
 
PM Netanyahu:
 
"We're all faced here with a great challenge against the forces of terrorism that not only seek to destroy Israel but seek of course to render any possibility of peace totally hopeless. There are other such efforts that render peace hopeless and one of them is the Paris conference. It's a rigged conference, rigged by the Palestinians with French auspices to adopt additional anti-Israel stances. This pushes peace backwards. It's not going to obligate us. It's a relic of the past. It's a last gasp of the past before the future sets in."
 
Norwegian FM Brende:
 
It's good to be here. I would also like to convey our sincere condolences for the terror attack that happened on Sunday.
 
So we will be there [at the Paris conference] but we will make sure that there is a nuanced outcome, and I'm looking forward also to discuss future peace processes with you."
 
At the start of their meeting, the two men signed a joint bilateral declaration of intent on research and development.