(Communicated by the Prime Minister's Media Adviser)
Following are excerpts from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s remarks, today (Sunday, 9 May), at the start of the special Cabinet meeting, at Jerusalem City Hall, to mark Jerusalem Day:
"We are currently witnessing violent disturbances in Jerusalem under the influence of agitators.
“Over the weekend, I held ongoing assessments of the situation with the Defense Minister, Public Security Minister, the IDF Chief-of-Staff, the Israel Police Inspector General, the head of the ISA, the head of the National Security Council and other officials.
“We will not allow any extremist element to undermine the quiet in Jerusalem. We will uphold law and order – vigorously and responsibly. We will continue to guard freedom of worship for all faiths but we will not allow violent disturbances.
“In the same breath, I say to the terrorist organizations: Israel will respond powerfully to any act of aggression from the Gaza Strip.
“Jerusalem has been the capital of the Jewish people for thousands of years. Our roots in Jerusalem go back to Biblical times. Our continuous link with Jerusalem has been maintained in all generations.
“Every archaeological find attests to the strength of this link. We are uncovering Jerusalem's past even as we ensure its future.
“For 54 years, Jerusalem has been united under the rule of the democratic State of Israel. When one looks back over thousands of years of Jewish rule and the foreign rule, and today again under the state of the Jews, only under the sovereignty of Israel has full and consistent freedom of worship been ensured for all faiths, and thus we will continue.
“At the same time, we are developing Jerusalem in every sphere: Construction, transportation infrastructure, employment, high-tech and science, heritage, culture, the arts and more.
“We emphatically reject the pressures not to build in Jerusalem. Unfortunately, these pressures have been increasing of late. I say to our best friends as well: Jerusalem is the capital of Israel. Just as every people builds its capital and in its capital, so too do we reserve the right to build Jerusalem and in Jerusalem. This is what we have done and what we will continue to do.
“The State of Israel has been rightly known over the years as a country that that cares for and looks after its soldiers who have served in defense of its security and who have been wounded during their service, whether in battle or during their service.
“Our reputation in the world was completely justified because it genuinely expressed this true relationship, which is rooted deep in the heart of the citizens of Israel. But on the other hand, one cannot deny that over the years there has been a certain slackening as happens in every bureaucratic establishment and it has become necessary to reinvigorate our commitment in both reforms and budgets."
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"Today we are submitting for Cabinet approval the reform of the Defense Ministry Rehabilitation Division, a step that is both necessary and the right thing to do. Following many discussions and great efforts on our part, and personal intervention by myself and the Defense Minister, we have reached agreements that will get the reform underway.
“As we promised, this year we will transfer approximately NIS 300 million to the Rehabilitation Division, a budget that will be entered into the base of the state budget. I would like to thank the Defense and Finance ministers, the Handicapped IDF Veterans Organization and the Director General of the Prime Minister's Office for concluding the outline. It really is about time."
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"On behalf of myself, my family and all of you, I would like to send condolences to our friend Asher Hayon, who lost his father a short while ago. His father had been ill for many years; Asher had cared for him with extraordinary dedication. All of you could be impressed, each one from his or her place, by Asher's dedication to the state, to our common goals, to the splendid work that he does, and I would like to send condolences to him on behalf of the entire government."