The Prime Minister issued a statement today regarding last Thursday's diplomatic agreement with the United Arab Emirates, stressing the uniqueness of the agreement and the policy it underscores:
"Last Thursday, together with US President Donald Trump and Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, I declared the historic peace agreement between Israel and the United Arab Emirates. This is the first peace agreement between Israel and an Arab country in 26 years. It is different from its predecessors because it is based on two principles: ‘peace for peace’ and ‘peace through strength’ ..."
Netanyahu noted that, "At the UN in 2013, I said that for years, many believed that Israeli-Palestinian peace would advance a broader reconciliation between Israel and the Arab world. I said that I was of the view that peace would be achieved in the opposite fashion: It was expanding reconciliation between Israel and the Arab world that would likely advance an Israeli-Palestinian peace. I added that in order to achieve this peace, we had to gaze not only at Jerusalem and Ramallah, but at Cairo, Amman, Abu Dhabi, Riyadh and other places as well.
"This was not a prophecy. This was the persistent and systematic policy that I led and which took years to trickle down. Thank G-d, it has indeed trickled down. I see additional countries joining the circle of peace with us. This historic change will also advance peace with the Arab world and, in the end, peace, true peace, monitored, secure, with the Palestinians as well."