CABINET COMMUNIQUE
(Communicated by the Cabinet Secretariat)

At the weekly Cabinet meeting today (Sunday), 10.1.10:

1. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made the following remarks:

"Last week 20 rockets and mortar rounds were fired at Israel from the Gaza
Strip. I regard this very seriously. The IDF responded immediately; it
attacked missile producing factories in the Gaza Strip and tunnels through
which Iran smuggles missiles and rockets into the Strip. The Government's
policy is clear: Any firing at our territory will be responded to strongly
and immediately.

It is not only missiles and rockets that endanger security and push peace
further off. Words can also be dangerous. Sadly, there has been a retreat
in this area in recent months, both within the Palestinian Authority and by
its leaders. Whoever sponsors and supports naming a square in Ramallah
after a terrorist who murdered dozens of Israelis on the coastal road –
encourages terrorism. Whoever declares those responsible for the murder of
the late Rabbi Meir Avshalom Hai, father to seven children, as holy
martyrs – pushes peace further away.

At the same time, incitement continues in the Palestinian media and
education system; in its official media outlets and in the schools under its
supervision. These serious actions represent a harsh violation of the
Palestinians' international obligation to prevent incitement. I say to the
Chairman of the Palestinian Authority: Stop the incitement. This is not how
peace is made. Peace is made by educating towards reconciliation, by
encouraging good neighborly relations and by developing mutual respect.
Therefore, the cessation of Palestinian incitement is a necessary condition,
not for entering into discussions, but so that we may complete them in a way
that will bring about genuine peace between our two peoples."

2. Prime Minister Netanyahu also paid tribute to his outgoing Military
Secretary, Maj.-Gen. Meir Kalifi, who is retiring from the IDF after 33
years of service.

3. Pursuant to Article 12 of the 1959 State Service Law (Appointments), the
Cabinet appointed Orna Hozman-Bechor as Director-General of the Negev and
Galilee Development Ministry.

4. Pursuant to Article 12 of the 1959 State Service Law (Appointments), the
Cabinet appointed Ehud Shani as Director-General of the Defense Ministry,
effective 14.1.10.

5. Pursuant to Education Minister Gideon Saar's recommendation, the Cabinet
appointed Tzvi Tzameret as Chairman of the Education Ministry Pedagogic
Secretariat.

6. The Cabinet voted to extend several previous decisions regarding the
financing of infrastructure development in the Bedouin sector in the Negev.
.

7. Social Welfare and Social Services Minister Yitzhak Herzog and National
Insurance Institute Director-General Esther Dominisini briefed ministers on
the latest NII poverty and social gaps report.