Meeting with UAE counterpart, Ashkenazi urges Palestinians to negotiating table

Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi thanks his Emirati counterpart for meeting with him and touring the Holocaust memorial in Germany with him.

He says the visit was the first time in history that a representative of an Arab state was present at such a memorial.

“Everyone understands why we need to be strong to avoid war and create peace,” he says.

He says the meeting “represents a new era.”

He describes the meeting as “good,” and says tourism and trade were discussed, expressing hope for more talks, including on security.

He says the UAE deal has paved the way for more relations between Israel and other Gulf countries, but says those countries need to be “courageous,” to move ahead toward peace.

He calls for the Palestinians to come back to the table, saying that direct negotiations are the only way to move forward.

He ends his speech by wishing for peace in Arabic.