One of the first issues that Benjamin Netanyahu intends to examine after he re-enters the position of Prime Minister is Israel’s policy regarding Ukraine. In addition, Netanyahu believes that a peace agreement with Saudi Arabia is possible, and that when it is reached it will be the end of the Israeli-Arab conflict.
Netanyahu said these things in an interview with the call me back podcast and interviewer Dan Senor, as part of an event held by the Stryker Cultural Center at the American Reform Synagogue “Temple Emanuel”.
In an interview that took place after winning the elections, Netanyahu said that the concerns voiced about a possible damage of his emerging government to minority rights or human rights “are absurd”. According to him, Israel is a democracy that maintains its values.
“The fears about the end of Israeli democracy are absurd in my eyes. In terms of relations with the US, I don’t think there is any disagreement across the political spectrum in Israel that the US is an ally that cannot be given up. It is more than an ally. The American-Israeli alliance is as stable as ever “. He described that American President Biden called him after winning the election, and said that they had a 40-year friendship. “This bond is unbreakable. I wouldn’t worry.”
In the conversation, Netanyahu outlined his three main commitments in the upcoming government. The first relates to stopping Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons, the second to the Abraham Accords and the third to the continuation of the revolution of innovation and entrepreneurship in Israel.
“We changed history with the Abraham Accords, and I am convinced that we can make much more progress. Not just another peace agreement, but to achieve an agreement that will end the Israeli-Arab conflict. The Palestinians make up only one or two percent of the Arab world, and they were the tail that wags the Arab body. I believe That it is possible to achieve peace with all the others, perhaps except for Syria and Iraq, and then return to a realistic solution with the Palestinians, one that we can live with,” Netanyahu said.
He later added that the Abraham Accords did not happen without Saudi support, “because at least some of these countries wanted to know what their great neighbor thought about it – and she was not negative about the agreements. Saudi Arabia opened its skies to Israeli aircraft. Saudi Arabia is not ‘another country.’ We will achieve peace with her, this will resolve the conflict between Israel and the Arab countries.” He also said that a quarter of a century has passed since the peace agreements with Egypt and Jordan until the Abraham agreements, “but Saudi Arabia will change the balance, I think it is achievable.” According to Netanyahu, Israel is becoming one of the richest countries in the world, “this is good for Israel, for the world and for peace”.
Regarding the war in Ukraine, Netanyahu said that he looks at the tragedy there, “and thinks about what we are supposed to do or not do. This is one of the first things I will examine when I take office and decide how to manage it. It is a terrible tragedy, and if there is anything I can do to end this tragedy – I’ll do it”.
When asked what his opinion is regarding the current Israeli government’s policy towards Ukraine, Netanyahu replied that he learned in politics that it is best to “learn the facts first and then speak”.
The prime minister-designate was asked about his differences of opinion with American presidents during the previous terms of office, and said that these concerned the essence and not personal matters, and were like “arguments within the family”. He described that he explained to the presidents, including Clinton and Obama, his doctrine that the regional struggle is between moderates and extremists, and within its framework Israel belongs to the moderate forces and the Palestinians to the extremists. “It took me a while to convince Trump as well, regarding the Palestinians,” he said.