Netanyahu: I will bring UAE investments to the Negev
“We are truly committed to pull Israel out of the world recession,” Netanyahu told the Knesset Negev work group, claiming that the Emirates is “very interested” in investing in the Negev.
By HAGAY HACOHENAn Ibex stands on a cliff-edge above the Ramon Crater in southern Israel's Negev desert March 5, 2012.(photo credit: AMIR COHEN/REUTERS)
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told the Knesset on Wednesday that “the peace agreement with the UAE is a great opportunity to inject new investments in the Negev,” during a meeting of the Knesset Negev work group, led by Likud MK Shlomo Karhi.Noting that the Negev is the place where “you develop desert agriculture, water and solar power,” Netanyahu said that “these things are of great interest to our friends in the Emirates.”Hinting that he “knows of their desire to invest here,” the prime minister vowed to “bring them here to the Negev,” where he told his audience that “you will show them the massive opportunities that exist here.”The Negev work group includes members from the Likud, Yesh Atid, Shas, Blue and White, UTJ and Yisrael Beytenu, as well as Derech Eretz MK Zvi Hauser.The group was formed earlier this month in order to turn the Negev into an economic growth engine for the rest of the country.Among the topics it is championing is the creation of a major international airport in Nevatim.Transportation Minister Miri Regev supported Nevatim over the position of the defense establishment, which recommended Ramat David in the north of the country.Karhi lauded Regev for her position, saying that the main focus of the work group is to ensure that an international airport will be built in Nevatim. He described his surprise at being met with objections, “which I cannot share with you,” he informed the members.He said an official subcommittee dealing with the Negev will be formed on Monday to push forward issues related to the south of the country.Netanyahu lamented the alleged “fake news” that surrounded the Abraham Accords with the UAE and denied he made any agreements with the US concerning the sale of F-35 jets to the Arab country.However, the US doesn’t need Israel’s consent to sell advanced weapons systems, and Israeli companies have been selling their technology and services to the Gulf states for years. Included in this are the water-desalination and energy markets, which Netanyahu suggested are the UAE’s focus.The prime minister repeated his claim that Israel is not as badly hit by the world recession as are other countries, adding that the figures for the Jewish state are “exactly half of the recession in shrinkage in Europe.”“We are truly committed to pull Israel out of the world recession,” Netanyahu told the Knesset.Netanyahu arrived at his figure of a 7.8% decline in production, when National Economic Council chairman Avi Simhon called the Central Bureau of Statistics and asked it to compare production between the second quarter of 2019 and the second quarter of 2020.The figure did not appear in the CBS report, which described a drop in production of almost four times as much – 28.7% – Haaretz reported on Tuesday.When asked, a source close to the CBS refused to confirm or deny the report, telling The Jerusalem Post that “we do not monitor the calls officials get.”
