(Communicated by the Prime Minister's Media Adviser)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, today (Wednesday, 23 July 2014), while en route from Jerusalem to Tel Aviv, where he is due to meet with US Secretary of State John Kerry, went to Ben-Gurion International Airport to welcome former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg. Following are excerpts of their remarks.

Prime Minister Netanyahu:

"Michael, you are a welcomed guest on any day, but especially on this day, to come here as a true leader, a true friend and as a man of standing and truth. And the truth is, that you wanted to demonstrate by coming here, is that this airport is open. You can fly in and out of Israel. We protect this airport. There's no reason whatsoever for the mistaken FAA decision to instruct American planes not to come here. I think you're proving it by coming here. Where I stand, the Prime Minister of Israel, where you stand, anybody can stand. I think this decision only rewards the Hamas terrorists for nothing. You can fly in and out of Israel and I hope that the FAA rescinds this decision as soon as possible."

Michael Bloomberg:

"Thank you. Let me just say that every time I come here, I'm reminded of history, of where my family comes from, of freedom and democracy. This is the only democratic country in this part of the world, a true democracy where everybody has a chance to express themselves and practice the religions that they want to practice in the ways they want to. In terms of coming here, if – I would argue that Ben-Gurion Airport is probably the safest airport in the whole world to fly in and out of. This is a country that's been threatened since its existence back in 1948, when the United Nations created this country as a homeland for the Jews. And Israelis know what it is to keep people safe and in terms of that also."