I am now returning from a historic visit, a very important summit meeting with President Trump. This meeting took place, of course, on New Year’s Eve. It was very moving for my wife and me to stand alongside the President and his wife and celebrate the arrival of the new year, which we hope will be even better than the past year.
President Trump asked me, “Tell me, do you like fireworks?” I told him, “Look, it’s better than other things that explode in the sky, but we’ve also learned to handle that well.” And he, of course, understood that. There was great understanding during the visit and great solidarity. I think it contributed to strengthening the dual connection, both between Israel and the United States, and of course, our personal connection.
We discussed all the developments in the region. I will first address Gaza – he was unequivocal. He repeated this in our private talks and also in public at the press conference there. He said: “The necessary condition is that Hamas disarms.” There is no other option. This is a necessary and fundamental condition for the realization of his 20-point plan. He made no concessions on this and showed no flexibility on this issue.
We also discussed Iran, of course. We reiterated our joint position of zero enrichment on the one hand, and of course, the need to remove the 400 kilograms of enriched material from Iran and to closely and genuinely monitor the sites. These discussions took place, of course, at the beginning of the dramatic events unfolding in Iran. You heard the President address this shortly thereafter. We, of course, identify with this. The Israeli government, the State of Israel, and my policy. We identify with the struggle of the Iranian people, with their aspirations for freedom, liberty, and justice. It is very possible that we are at a moment when the Iranian people are taking their destiny into their own hands.
Regarding Venezuela, I want to express the entire government’s support for the decisive decision and decisive action of the United States to restore freedom and justice to this region of the world as well. I must say that in Latin America right now, there is a turnaround that we are witnessing, with several countries returning to the American axis and, not surprisingly, also to a connection with the State of Israel. We welcome this, we congratulate President Trump on his decision, and we also salute the American military forces who carried out a perfect operation. We know how to appreciate such a thing.
We are also carrying out other operations here in our region, and I am primarily referring to the effort by the Israel Police to restore governance in the Negev. We will do everything to prevent the Negev from becoming the Wild West, and finally, there is an initiative here, and I congratulate Minister Ben-Gvir for leading this initiative. I intend to visit the Negev with him in the coming days to see our actions up close, and this is not the only initiative. The welcome change made in the prison service, after we were told for years that nothing could be done because it would lead to terrible developments. The exact opposite happened. And I also welcome the building of the National Guard’s strength and, of course, the strengthening of the Israel Police. All of these are welcome developments, and I believe the entire government expresses its support and backing.
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