In an unprecedented move Saudi Arabia broadcast Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech to the United Nations in which he spoke about how the two countries were on the cusp of history and would normalize ties, the Israeli leader said prior to his departure from New York.
“The speech at the UN was broadcast live not only on the American news networks, but this time also in an unprecedented manner in Saudi Arabia – this is also a good sign for the new year,” Netanyahu said.
It was part of a message that he issued as he spoke to the passengers on his plane over the loudspeakers.
He summarized his trip weeklong trip to the United States, which was his first since taking office at the end of December.
“I opened it in California at an important meeting with Elon Musk and leading figures in the field of artificial intelligence, which will affect the future of all of us,” he said.
“In New York I had an excellent meeting with US President Joe Biden in which we discussed expanding the circle of peace, a continuation of the Abraham Accords that we brought three years ago,” he stated.
Netanyahu added that he had also met with 20 heads of state who sought to strengthen their ties with Israel.
Netanyahu’s meetings with other heads of state
Among the leaders who met were German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi announced that his country would open an embassy in Jerusalem and Paraguayan President Santiago Peña confirmed a pledge his country already made to Israel to reopen its Jerusalem embassy.
Netanyahu referenced those meetings, stating, that two of the leaders he met with “even announced the transfer of their embassy to Jerusalem, good news for the new year.”
“I also met with Henry Kissinger and many other personalities, including the heads of the Jewish organizations in the United States.”
“At the same time, my wife participated in a number of events with leaders’ wives, including the wife of the US president, Jill Biden, and was warmly received by her and the leaders’ wives. I am proud of her work for our country,” he added.
Netanyahu flurry of high-level diplomatic activity, however, took place alongside a small but persistent level of protest activity against his judicial reform plan which he believes will protect democracy but which its opponents fear will transform Israel into a dictatorship.
Demonstrators were at the airport in San Jose when he landed, outside his hotel in New York and outside the United Nations when he delivered his speech.
They also stood outside in the rain when he departed on Saturday night yelling, “shame, shame” in Hebrew.
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