Hundreds of web surfers from Egypt, Jordan, Iraq, the Gulf states, northern Africa, the Palestinian Authority and from among the Israeli Arab sector responded to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's call and directed their questions to him this morning, via the Prime Minister's Office Facebook page in Arabic. (Click here for the video).
The questions dealt with a broad range of issues including the Arab Spring, the diplomatic process with the Palestinians, Iran, relations between Israel and Arab countries and more. The questions expressed a genuine interest in learning more about Israel and its policies in a range of areas. Ofir Gendelman, the Prime Minister's Arabic Media Adviser, translated the questions and answers for Prime Minister Netanyahu and the surfers.
In response to a question about the diplomatic
process, the Prime Minister said that, "I am ready at this moment to go to Ramallah and begin talks with Abu Mazen without preconditions. To my regret, Abu Mazen is not prepared to come to my office. I think that this is a mistake."
Regarding Iran, Prime Minister Netanyahu said that, "Iran is developing nuclear weapons in order to control the entire Middle East and beyond. This is a direct threat to peace."
The Prime Minister referred to the Arab Spring and said that, "Increasing freedom within these countries will aid their prosperity. Increasing freedom of information could aid peace because at the moment, the Arab world still has stigmas and stereotypes about the State of Israel that have no bearing on reality."
Regarding Saudi Arabia, Prime Minister Netanyahu said that, "We have many common interests that we could advance regarding the economy and regional policy. I believe that, like us, Saudi Arabia sees that there is a great danger in the spread of terrorism by extremist elements. We expect that the Saudi regime, like others, will act against these dangerous forces."