Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu met Monday with French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian.
Netanyahu began his remarks by expressing solidarity with the French people following the terrorist attack which occurred in France last Friday.
"We saw the horrible tragedy in Toulouse," Netanyahu said. "And the people of Israel stand with you. We grieve with you over the loss of innocent French lives, and of a true hero, Officer Arnaud Beltrame, a hero of the human race, not only a hero of France. And we understand this very well. Monsieur le Ministre, I understand it very well. And I understand the loss of heroes and the special pain that that entails."
"We have to stand together against this terrorism that afflicts our world. We have to fight terrorists wherever they are. And we have to fight terror-sponsoring regimes wherever they are.
The Prime Minister said that Israel and France must work together to counter Iran's subversive influence in the Middle East and around the world. "The foremost terrorist-sponsoring regime in the world, in our region and beyond, is Iran. We have to roll back its aggression, and it is vast, and we must ensure that Iran does not acquire nuclear weapons. I think this is the preeminent issue facing the international community in the coming months, in the coming years. And I look forward to having the opportunity to speak to you about this and our other common interests."
"There is a friendship between France and Israel that is deep and enduring, and expresses itself in many, many ways," he continued.
"And I would add that we admire the position of successive French governments, successive French presidents and President Macron against anti-Semitism. It’s bold, it’s clear and it’s right," Netanyahu concluded.
Minister Le Drian also praised the close relationship between France and Israel, saying:
"This will be a very special year for Israel and France and the relations between them, because we have over 200 joint cultural events that will take place in both Israel and France. The season will begin at the end of May when the French Prime Minister visits, and I will accompany him, and afterwards you will come to visit France. President Macron will then come here and afterwards President Rivlin will come to France. Thus, a good many visits are anticipated and the bond is tightening. This is a sign that the friendship is very deep and strong and we have much in common. We fight the same fights against terrorism, anti-Semitism and – of course – for the security of the entire region.
He mentioned the brutal murder of a Holocaust survivor in her Paris apartment yesterday, "I had a very moving and difficult moment when I had just concluded my visit to Yad Vashem. I heard about the outrageous murder of Mirelle Kanolin – a Holocaust survivor – in Paris. We cannot yet say if the motive for the murder was anti-Semitism but it is reasonable to assume so, it will not be surprising and, therefore, this only strengthens the fact that this struggle has not ended, and that we will need to continue fighting against anti-Semitism."
He thanked Netanyahu for his remarks about the terrorist attack in France last week. "I am very grateful for your warm remarks in memory of Col. Beltrame who paid with his life in the war against terrorism. This is a struggle we have in common. The basis for all this is security and your message certainly moves us very much. We have much to discuss together. It cannot be said that this region is especially calm."
"Therefore, we will discuss all of these issues in the same atmosphere of mutual confidence and friendship that prevails between us. We will be able discuss all these topics so I am very pleased to be here."