Binyamin Netanyahu
Binyamin NetanyahuYonatan Sindel/Flash 90

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu opened the first weekly Cabinet meeting Sunday since the government's decision to hold elections, noting that the Knesset's dissolution will not hinder Israel's ability to defend itself. 

"The government today will hear an overview on the political and security situation in the region by the National Security Council head Yoram Cohen," Netanyahu stated at the opening of the meeting - the first since the dismissal of ministers from Yesh Atid and Hatnua last week.

“We will remain constantly with our hand on the pulse of the Middle East, and we will deal with our threats and challenges because they do not take a break,” he added. “We will deal with them with the same degree of responsibility that we have done up until now.”

Netanyahu also addressed the dire situation of longtime prisoner Jonathan Pollard, whose health took a turn for the worse over the weekend.

"Over the weekend I spoke with Jonathan Pollard's wife, Esther Pollard, and with Secretary of State John Kerry," the Prime Minister said. "I told him that Jonathan Pollard's poor health is another reason to ensure his freedom." 

“Jonathan lost consciousness, was hospitalized, and is not healthy,” Netanyahu said. “He is suffering simultaneously from a number of ailments. The time has come, for all these reasons, after 30 years that Jonathan Pollard is released and becomes a free man.”

“We will not stop working until he is returned home, to the State of Israel,” Netanyahu said.

The Prime Minister also sent his condolences to Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman, following the death of his mother last week.

"I'm sure I reflect the feelings of all members of the government and many others when I send condolences to our friend Yvette Liberman," Netanyahu said, using the Yisrael Beytenu chief's nickname. "He lost his mother, who was one of the first women [in Israel] and who have experienced the extraordinary hardships suffered by our people."

"She overcame it, came with her husband to Israel, started a family with deep roots and managed to overcome the greatest threats to them personally, and also characterized the threats directed against the Jewish people," Netanyahu added. "I wish Avigdor the ability to overcome this sorrow of losing a mother. We all know [how] it [is], or at least many of us know [it], and know how great that pain is."