PM Netanyahu's Remarks at the Start of the Weekly Cabinet Meeting 13.11.16
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made the following remarks at the start of the weekly Cabinet meeting: Today we mark the 21st anniversary of the murder of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin. We bow our heads in sorrow over this reprehensible murder. Our people lost a great leader.
Last week I spoke by telephone with US President-elect Donald Trump. In this conversation as well, President-elect Trump expressed very deep friendship for Israel, a friendship which has characterized him and, I must add, also the team around him, for many years. In recent years we have wisely and responsibly managed our relations with the United States – the greatest and most important of our allies – and we will continue to do so in the coming months and years.
President-elect Trump and I decided to meet soon in order to discuss all of the important issues on the agenda between the US and Israel. I request that all ministers, deputy ministers and MKs allow the incoming administration to formulate – together with us – its policy vis-à-vis Israel and the region, through accepted and quiet channels, and not via interviews and statements.
I would like to say something on the issue pf Amona, to lift the cloud, and clarify the situation. Approximately two weeks ago, the government filed a motion to postpone by six months the implementation of the court order to evacuate Amona. This motion was filed with the approval of the heads of all of the coalition parties. The Attorney General clearly says that raising the normalization law before the High Court of Justice responds, could severely harm – and it has severely harmed – the chance of a postponement. On the other hand, there is also time to raise the bill so that it passes in time, in case the postponement is rejected. Therefore, today, at the meeting of the heads of the coalition parties, we will consider, sagaciously and responsibly, the possibilities before us. I would like to emphasize that there is no one who is more concerned about settlement than us. Here as well, sagacity and responsibility are needed for the benefit of the settlements.
Today, the Ministerial Committee on Legislation will consider draft legislation on limiting the magnitude of noise from public address systems in houses of prayer in Israel. Muslims, as well as Jews and Christians, also suffer from this. I cannot count the times, they are simply too numerous, that citizens have turned to me from all parts of Israeli society, from all religions, with complaints about the noise and suffering caused them by the excessive noise coming to them from the public address systems of houses of prayer. Israel is a country that respects freedom of religion for all faiths. Israel is also committed to defending those who suffer from the loudness of the excessive noise of the announcements. This is how it is in many European cities and in many places in the Islamic world, where the loudness of the announcements is limited out of consideration for the populace as a whole. I support similar legislation and enforcement in the State of Israel.
One last issue. Today, Minister Tzachi Hanegbi will submit to the Cabinet a proposal to lift the immunity of documents and protocols of the commissions of inquiry on the disappearance of the Yemenite children. The families whose children disappeared and the public at large deserve to know what the commissions of inquiry discussed. I know that you (Minister Hanegbi) speak about lifting all of the restrictions and, in effect, allowing people to see with their own eyes all of this material on the Internet. I would like to thank you, Tzachi, for your welcome and expedited action, and that of your team. I would like to also thank MK Nurit Koren and the other MKs for working to advance this important issue.
