Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told his British counterpart, Prime Minister Theresa May during their meeting Thursday afternoon (Nov. 2) at Number 10 Downing St. the Palestinian Authority is 100 years behind the times. The two were meeting prior to celebrations marking the centennary of the Balfour Declaration.
Netanyahu said the document helped pave the way for the rebirth of an independent state for the Jewish People in our ancestral homeland.
“A hundred years later, our two countries, our two democracies – Israel and Britain – are strong allies and partners,” Netanyahu observed.
“We cooperate closely on intelligence. We cooperate closely in the battle against terrorism. And we’ve saved, through this cooperation, countless lives – British lives, Israeli lives.
“We cooperate in cybersecurity, in technology, in business and enterprise. We share the values of freedom and democracy and peace.
Israel is committed to peace, I’m committed to peace,” Netanyahu said.
“A hundred years after Balfour, the Palestinians should finally accept the Jewish national home and finally accept the Jewish state. And when they do, the road to peace will be infinitely closer. In my opinion, peace will be achievable.”
Netanyahu added that “great things are happening” in the Middle East, claiming that “Many Arab countries now see Israel not as an enemy but as their indispensable ally in the battle against militant Islam.” The threat, he said pointedly, is that of a “resurgent Iran that is bent not only on dominating the region but bent on developing nuclear weapons.”
The prime minister said his goal was not to keep or eliminate the 2015 JCPOA (Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action) nuclear deal signed between Iran and the six world powers, but rather to improve the deal and correct its main flaws. “I think those who want to keep the deal should cooperate in correcting the deal,” he said.
Netanyahu thanked May for her “resolute stand against anti-Semitism,” for her “resolute stand on the historical truth,” and for her friendship.