| Following is an excerpt from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's remarks, today (Wednesday, 19 August 2020), at the Knesset, at a meeting of the Negev Lobby chaired by MK Shlomo Karei:
"We have good news that is very important to the state and to the Negev. The peace agreement with the UAE is a great opportunity for the injection of new investments in the Negev.
“In the Negev, you are developing the whole gamut of desert agriculture, water and solar energy. These things are very interesting to our friends in the UAE. I am aware of their desire to invest here in their sovereign wealth fund, which, by the way, is almost $1 trillion. They are very interested in investing in Israel. I also intend to bring them to the Negev and I am certain that you will show them the great possibilities that exist here. Therefore, I think that there truly is a unique opportunity here. This is a historic agreement that contains great news for the State of Israel.
“I regret that there is also fake news surrounding it. Not only does it not harm the security of Israel, it will contribute to the security of Israel. There is no agreement by me or any agreement whatsoever on arms sales from the US to the UAE. Neither open nor secret, not in writing, not handwritten; it is all one large piece of fake news.
“I understand that it is difficult to accept the fact that we have made a different peace. Peace for peace. Not peace for land, not peace for weapons. Peace for peace. Peace for the great fruits of peace. This will reverberate for years to come.
“There is also fake economic news. We have a great challenge, a global pandemic, the coronavirus. We are fighting it and not only us, many countries are. Mortality in Israel is relatively low despite the pain that we feel over each one.
“We received amazing numbers. Nobody knows this because the media has not reported on it completely and fully. They said that our economy has contracted and that we are in a recession – the whole world is in a recession. However, the recession in Israel, the degree to which our GDP has contracted according to the Central Bureau of Statistics, is exactly half of the contraction and the recession in Europe and almost all countries. Israel is practically the economy that has contracted the least, except for South Korea and several Baltic countries.
“You have not heard about this, of course. I say this because the truth needs to be told. The truth is that we are truly committed to pulling Israel out of this economic difficulty that is affecting the world. The truth is that we are committed to achieving peace with the Arab world. We eliminated the Palestinian veto on the development of peace with others – and other countries will come. The truth is that this very greatly serves the security of Israel and the truth is that I am very committed to developing the Negev and the Galilee.
“I spoke yesterday with local council heads from the area adjacent to the Gaza Strip, a very important conversation. I made it clear to them, and I reiterate to you: My commitment to security is absolute. We are now relating to every fire – fires are like rockets. We have been hitting and striking at Hamas on a daily basis, for the past eleven nights straight. If necessary, we will do much more. They need to understand that what happened last time will happen to them now twofold, to them and to the Islamic Jihad.
"They saw that we are ready to use all means, including targeted counter-measures, if things develop. I suggest that they not develop this. They certainly have an interest in allowing normal life on their side and we will not allow the absence normal life on our side. Therefore, this commitment is genuine and I am certain that it will also bear fruit in the coming days."
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