Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, this morning (Sunday, 9 February 2020), at the start of the weekly Cabinet meeting, made the following remarks:

“In Washington, on my last visit, we made history. We brought an American plan, according to which the US will recognize our sovereignty over the Jordan Valley, the northern Dead Sea and communities in Judea and Samaria without exception, large and small, and the area surrounding them. This plan is the result of accelerated and joint work by the staffs, President Trump’s and mine, and of my joint work with President Trump. This brings the main thing, which is American recognition of our sovereignty and of the application of the law to the territories that the plan designates as being part of Israel.

"This requires precise mapping of these territories, the entire territory. It has a perimeter of 800 kilometer. The work has begun. The Israeli team has begun work. The train is underway and this work will be completed. The US and we have agreed that when the entire process will have been completed, we will bring it to the Cabinet. However, the Americans are saying very clearly: ‘We want to give you the recognition and we will give it to you when the entire process has been completed.’ This recognition is the main point. This is what we have brought; I brought it, after joint work. We do not want to endanger this. We are working responsibly and sagaciously. To all those tweeting from outside and even from within the government, we have done the work. We will complete the work; therefore, the work is underway and I hope it will be completed very soon.

"We also made history last week in Africa. I met in Uganda with the Chairman of the Sovereignty Council of Sudan, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan. It was a very important meeting. We agreed on cooperation that will lead to normalization between Israel and Sudan. Sudan hosted the Khartoum Conference, with the three no’s, against the existence of Israel, against recognition of Israel and against peace with Israel. Today, there is a tremendous change taking place in the world, which we are leading, to change our relations with Arab and Islamic countries, almost all of them. This process is also reflected in what has happened: Israel has become a global power. Many Islamic and Arab countries want to draw closer to us.

"Today, I am submitting for Cabinet approval a decision to allocate NIS 35 million for security and civilian resiliency components for the city of Ashkelon and its residents. I thank the Finance Minister, the Interior Minister and the other ministers who gave their assistance here. In the framework of this plan, we will work to immediately refit hundreds of public shelters in the city. We will also expand support treatments for children and we will bring smart systems and special equipment for emergencies.

"However, I want to make it clear: We will not accept any aggression from Gaza. Only a few weeks ago, we targeted the senior Islamic Jihad commander in Gaza, and I suggest that both Islamic Jihad and Hamas refresh their memories. I will not go into detail about all of our actions and plans for the media, but we are prepared to take devastating action against the terrorist organizations in Gaza. Our actions are very strong and they have not yet ended, to put it mildly.

"Today, the Cabinet will approve the bringing to Israel of another approximately 400 olim from Ethiopia. I am proud of the fact that as Prime Minister, I have had the privilege of bringing thousands of our brothers and sisters from Ethiopia, and we intend – of course – to continue doing this. This is an additional step. We are also committed to the full integration of members of the community into Israeli society. We are working for this without respite and we will continue to do so.”

Prime Minister Netanyahu added:

“Hats off to Avraham Neguise and Dudi because you have been there from the first moment and we are pleased that we are continuing with this.

"Of course, we will continue to work in the country with full force against expressions of racism, everywhere, and certainly in every part of the government and the public. We are against this; we truly understand the feelings of the sons and daughters of the community. From time to time, every few weeks, I have convened here a meeting of government ministers to deal with all needs but first of all this basic need – to understand how they feel, to change the public approach and to truly take a very clear stand against all expressions of racism in general and against our brothers and sisters in particular.

"Today, we will submit another important decision for Cabinet approval. We will advance the establishment of a flight data center that will gather information about flights to and from the State of Israel. Of course, this is especially important during diseases or epidemics. This is also vital for the State of Israel in its struggle against terrorism, crime, illegal migration. As I said, it will also assist in maintaining public health. Naturally, all aspects regarding the protection of privacy will be taken into account and will be anchored in legislation.

"Today, we are joining a series of countries, such as the US, Australia and many European countries who already operate such centers. Since I have touched on our dealing with the Coronavirus, I report to the cabinet that we held another comprehensive, in-depth and thorough discussion in order to operate all arms of the government against the virus. As of now, what we have expected will occur in the end has not happened, the first clearly proven infection in Israel, of Israelis or visitors, of the virus. This is the result of accelerated work by our systems, including our health system.