President: ‘Syrian events will determine fate of Galilee’
Shimon Peres urges technological development of the region
President Shimon Peres linked the ongoing Syrian revolution to development of the Galilee on Tuesday, saying what happened in Syria would determine the fate of the Galilee region.
Peres said that regional unrest showed that the government must be prepared to provide security for the Galilee in response to all possible scenarios. He also called on the government to continue developing and building in the Galilee, even during times of crisis.
Speaking at the annual conference of the Ministry for the Development of the Negev and Galilee held in the northern town of Nahariya, Peres stressed the need for government-sponsored development, saying that region is “desperate” for high-tech investment and that “basic services still require significant upgrades.”
“The Galilee can and should attract scientists, not just tourists,” Peres said. He called for the creation of a high-tech park for the benefit of “Jews and Arabs alike” that would also contain an international university and medical school.
The Ministry for the Development of the Negev and Galilee was created in 2005 expressly to oversee growth in the peripheral areas of the country. Peres headed the ministry from 2007 to 2009.