Prime Minister butts heads with oppostion leader Herzog who accuses Netanyahu of abandoning the entire nation outside of Tel Aviv.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday spoke at a Knesset plenary session initiated by 40 signatories in the opposition on the subject of "the government\’s abandonment of the towns of the periphery in the south and north."
The prime minister listed steps taken by the government under his leadership. "I don\’t call these places the periphery," he said. "One of the missions I took upon myself is to cancel the periphery. There is no reason for a short geographic distance and sustained travel to prevent us from changing this…
"Ben-Gurion\’s vision was pioneering for its own sake, but that is not sufficient. My vision adds two layers: national infrastructure and
a free economy," he continued. The public does not accept what you said, that there is no development in the Negev and the Galilee. They see the change in recent years compared to the lack of development and investment for decades before. The government is investing billions in developing the Negev and the Galilee."
Opposition leader Isaac Herzog spoke after Netanyahu, saying that "it is almost unbelievable that we have to collect 40 signatures to force you to have a discussion on the imperviousness and ungratefulness of your government in the south and the north. On your watch, you turned Israel into the state of Tel Aviv. "