The Honorable Vice Prime Minister, my friend, Minister for the Development of the Negev and the Galilee, Shimon Peres,
The Honorable Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Trade and Industry, Eli Yishai,
The Honorable Minister of Education, Yuli Tamir,
The Honorable Minister of the Interior, Roni Bar-On,
The Honorable Director-General of the Prime Minister's Office, Ra'anan Dinur,
Director-General of the Ministry of Education, Shmuel Abuav,
Ms. Efrat Duvdevani, Director-General of the Ministry for Regional Development and the Development of the Negev and the Galilee,
Mr. Shaul Sutnik, Director-General of the Pais Lottery,
All other representatives of Government Ministries and Government branches in the Negev,
And last but not least, my friend, Mayor of Rahat, Talal Elkarnawi,
I am very pleased to come to Rahat on the morning of a day which may symbolize a new beginning, not only for the residents of Rahat, but perhaps on a larger and more significant scale. Last night I received a call from the Chairman of the Palestinian Authority. While we maintain continuous contact, I was expecting this particular call – and he knew that I was expecting it – to let me know of a decision by all Palestinian organizations to reach a cease-fire, which was supposed to come into effect at six o'clock this morning. The intention was to achieve full cessation of all forms of violent activity, including the smuggling of weapons through tunnels, the dispatching of suicide terrorists, and, of course, the firing of Qassam rockets. I was very pleased to receive this notification, and congratulated the PA Chairman. We both agreed that the two parties would act to make certain that this cease-fire would in fact find practical expression from this morning at six.
I took into account the fact that a cease-fire is not something which is fully implemented immediately, without any violations. I nevertheless asked the Minister of Defense to instruct the IDF to withdraw. And indeed, this morning the IDF forces pulled out of the Gaza Strip. While there are still Palestinian violations of the cease-fire, I have instructed our security forces to refrain from responding, to show restraint and give this cease-fire a chance to go into full, practical and comprehensive effect, in accordance with the commitment made yesterday by PA Chairman Abu-Mazen. This morning, the Hamas organization already announced that it had no dialogue with us and that this morning's shooting was a violation of the Palestinian obligation. However, contrary to the situation which existed in the past, they admitted that there was in fact an obligation and a need to uphold this obligation. I am in contact with the Palestinian Authority to make sure that this obligation is fulfilled, and we will show patience and restraint in order to give it a chance.
The State of Israel is very strong. It has enough power to fight terrorism and enough power to show restraint and give the cease-fire a chance to be fully implemented, in accordance with Abu-Mazen's commitment to me. We will show the necessary patience and restraint in the next few days. Needless to say, the cease-fire, or the cessation of initiated activity, does not provide a response to all outstanding issues between us and the Palestinian Authority. We expect the immediate release of Gilad Shalit.
His release was not part of the internal arrangement between the Palestinian organizations which resulted in the cease-fire, but I believe that this understanding regarding a cease-fire could contribute to the speedy release of Gilad Shalit. In recent days and nights, we have been working tirelessly to bring about his release, and I hope that the PA will uphold the condition set forth by Abu-Mazen to the other organizations and ensure his speedy release. We very much hope that the cease-fire, if it comes into effect, would be expanded to Judea and Samaria as well. Abu-Mazen advised me that the organizations were beginning discussions today regarding the expansion of the cease-fire to Judea and Samaria as well. At the moment, it still does not apply there and I hope that they will show responsibility and good will on this issue as well. All these things would ultimately lead to one thing: the commencement of serious, genuine, open and direct negotiations between us and the PA, between Abu-Mazen and myself, in order for us to be able to proceed towards a comprehensive agreement between us and the Palestinians. In recent weeks, my bureau and that of Abu-Mazen maintain continuous contact. There is dialogue, there are understandings, but all these need to create the conditions for the opening of negotiations and I truly hope that it will happen soon. I see a great opportunity in this responsibility which the Chairman of the Palestinian Authority took upon himself – and particularly the full and unequivocal implementation of this commitment – and I promise you that the Government of Israel and the State of Israel will not miss this opportunity, but rather contribute to and strengthen this opportunity, in order to be able to move forward.
I welcome the developments taking place in Rahat. As you know, this is not my first time here in an official capacity. I escorted former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon on his visits here; I was here as Acting Prime Minister, and I was pleased to witness two things today. I was pleased to see the establishment of this school by the Pais Lottery. The key to any progress and prosperity is, ultimately, education, and in this matter there should be no gap between Jewish and Arab/Bedouin students. We must all provide our children with this opportunity. When you see these children at the experimental school, your heart rejoices.
We intend to continue investing in education. The Minister of Education knows that her most dedicated and loyal partner in the Government is the Prime Minister. There is no subject which is more important than the advancement of education for all sectors of the population in the State of Israel. Good education means also the creation of an infrastructure conducive to an atmosphere of cooperation and friendship, which I believe is vital for the relations between Jews and Bedouins in the Negev. We will continue to invest in education and I thank the Pais Lottery, which is our central partner in the building of education institutes in the State of Israel.
The other subject which is important to talk about is the 4,564 new housing units which are currently being developed in Rahat-Darom. It is part of a massive development project which is part of a larger venture which would ultimately, through a natural process, lead to the establishment of 7,800 housing units. In a city such as Rahat this means at least 50,000 residents. If you add to today's 40,000 residents another 4,564 housing units, which equals 30,000 residents, we can already picture a city of 120,000 residents, with vibrant streets, industrial parks, places of employment, schools and higher education institutes. We can see Rahat, which was established in 1972, becoming a lively urban metropolitan and offering a standard of living which the Bedouins in the Negev have not yet known. It is part of a massive effort which we are making to continue developing the non-Jewish communities in the Negev. I just passed through Road 31, an impressive road whose paving was finally completed, and you know how many years it took. Two years ago, we, in conjunction with the Ministry of Transportation, decided to proceed with the completion of this road in full speed, and on the outskirts of the road I could already see the houses being built in the Tarbin community.
This is not a simple thing. You know how much time and how many battles and arguments were involved. We are making progress and will continue to make progress. It is an effort overseen by all Government ministries, but ultimately the person to lead the development of the Negev and the Galilee would be Shimon Peres. It is first and foremost his responsibility. He and his office are leading the inter-ministerial planning of all government systems, together with the Prime Minister's Office, in order to implement all these plans. I congratulate you all on the fact that this day, when we are inaugurating a new school in Rahat, will be a day that will be remembered as the beginning of a long and arduous process – a process which will result in a cease-fire and the beginning of dialogue towards negotiation and, with G-d's help, also peace.