Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday that he expects more countries to follow on the peace accord between Israel and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and normalize relations with Israel, eventually leading the Palestinians to join the circle of peace.
In an interview with Army Radio, Netanyahu said that the agreement with the UAE proves that Israel's strength allows it to achieve peace with regional states without giving up land - one of the Palestinians' main preconditions before coming to the negotiation table.
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Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on the phone with U.S. President Donald Trump and UAE Crown Prince Shekih Mohammed bin Zayed
(Photo: GPO)
“This is a historic step that advances peace with the Arab world, and eventually will also promote peace — real, secure, and supervised peace — with the Palestinians as well,” Netanyahu said. "No one thought it would be possible to convince the U.S. to turn away from the nuclear deal with Iran and I thought differently. The weak cannot survive in the Middle East and this peace has come as a result of our strength."
I have promised to bring peace and have done so, and I promise to extend Israeli sovereignty over parts of the West Bank and will do so."
The premier mocked the prospect of a sovereign Palestinian state as detailed in U.S. President Donald Trump's peace.
"A state? We would be controlling the border, the airspace and the security on the ground and they would have to disarm the Hamas and recognize a unified Jerusalem as our capital and adopt democracy," said Netanyahu. "f you want to call that a state, go ahead."
Netanyahu also said that his unity government with Blue & White is far from ideal and that it would not have been formed if it weren't for the coronavirus pandemic. He went on to claim Israel's economy is doing better than those of many other countries.
The Likud chairman also warned terrorist factions in the Gaza Strip that Israel would respond harshly for any attack on its citizens after an uptick in cross-border violence in recent weeks.
"They know very well what their provocations could bring on them, they can have their heads bashed in. We will use all means at our disposal, and I suggest they remember the recent past," he said, most likely referring to the assassination of Islamic Jihad commander Bahaa Abu el-Atta in November of last year in an Israeli airstrike.