Benny Gantz
Benny Gantzspokesperson

At the start of today’s cabinet meeting, Defense Minister and Justice Minister Benny Gantz addressed the current security conditions, saying: “We are communicating a message that is taken from the Israeli Declaration of Independence, which was written during the most difficult moments of uncertainty: The State of Israel will allow freedom of worship to people of every religion, everywhere. This is both our most basic ethical commitment, as well as an obvious political and security interest."

"Unfortunately, over the past few weeks, we have seen extremist elements becoming increasingly provocative and fueling the violence further. This is a sensitive time, with all sorts of memorial days converging. In light of that, we at the Justice Ministry are working with social media networks, alongside our security apparatus, to remove posts that incite to violence. Unfortunately, I can tell you that some of the networks, Facebook in particular, aren’t cooperating closely enough to take down incitement. I hope that we’ll meet greater cooperation going forward, so that we can move toward deescalating the tensions that are there to begin with right now," he said,

Gantz concluded his remarks, saying: “Our first cabinet meeting was on last year’s Jerusalem Day. A year has passed and I am hopeful that we can set out on a new course, in which unity and reconciliation are the driving forces, not just conflict, of which we, unfortunately, have plenty. Jerusalem, which is a united capital, should also unite us as a nation, and I hope we can reach that place as quickly as possible.”