Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, during a special ceremony in Israel’s most southern resort city of Eilat, warned the enemies of the Jewish state not to test Israel’s resolve, emphasizing that anyone that seeks to harm us will be targeted. “We won’t allow anyone to break the silence, and anyone who harms us we will harm him. There won’t be ‘free’ sporadic (fire). It doesn’t exist,” said Netanyahu.
During the ceremony, that commemorated 68 years since Israel liberated the city of Eilat, the Prime Minister declared the southern city to be the country’s connection point to regional partners, Asia and Africa, while citing new opportunities he believes are seeking to cooperate with the Jewish state.
“I believe that new opportunities are emerging. I can see it. Compared to regional countries, including our neighbor Jordan, our cooperation with states and officials in the Middle East is continuously strengthening. In this regard, the Eilat port is an important connection-point to the red sea, the Indian ocean, and regional countries. I believe it (the port) will be used, and is already being used, a bridge of comradeship and prosperity between us and our neighbors, as well as Asia and Africa,” added Netanyahu.
The Israeli leader also referred to the wall that was built along Israel’s border with Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula. Netanyahu cited the fact that the border-wall had dramatically improved the security status, in the face of Islamic militants operating in neighboring Egypt, as well as halting the flow of illegal immigrants from Africa that attempted to enter the Jewish state.
“We built the fence along the border with Egypt, stretching more than 200 kilometers (125 miles), and of course the fence dramatically improved the security status, halted the flow of illegal infiltrators from Sinai, and established a dam in the face of Islamic fanatics,” concluded Netanyahu.
Netanyahu, who announced that work was already underway in constructing a similar security fence along Israel’s eastern border with Jordan, came under harsh criticism some two months ago, after he publicly announced support for President Donald Trump’s plan to build a similar wall along the southern border of the United States with Mexico. President Trump praised Prime Minister Netanyahu’s statement at the time, yet after Mexico demanded an apology, Israel’s President Reuven Rivlin contacted his Mexican counterpart, during which he apologized for Netanyahu’s statement.