Israel's New Gov't. Meets as Palestinians Protest

JERUSALEM, Israel -- After weeks of waiting, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu succeeded in forming the nation's 34th government, which met for the first time Friday morning after being sworn in Thursday evening.

It's time to "get to work," Netanyahu told the new cabinet.

"Despite all the ups-and-downs we had to go through to reach this moment, I am still moved by the position and I am certain that you are too," he began. "From this moment on we must leave disagreements outside this room and focus on good work for the citizens of Israel -- all citizens of Israel."

With regard to the security situation Israel faces everyday, both within and without the country, the prime minister said, "Israel's enemies must know that any threat directed at us has red lines."

Just a day before he spoke, a Palestinian Arab from Hebron rammed his car into Israelis waiting for the bus, injuring four, three of them students, and a 25 year old. The attack took place at the same location where three teenagers were abducted last March, killed, and their bodies disposed of in a shallow ditch.

In the Gaza Strip, 50 Palestinians, including women and children, were injured by an explosion in a training camp run by the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades, the Hamas terror group's "military wing." The hospital treating most of the injured declared "a state of emergency," YNet reported.

Meanwhile, Israel Police are on high alert Friday, especially on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem's Old City, as Palestinians mark the Nakba, or "catastrophe," which is how the P.A. refers to Israel's birth as a modern nation-state.

Following Friday's prayer, thousands plan to protest in Ramallah and Gaza City and even some inside Israel. According to a report in the Jerusalem Post, P.A. officials in Ramallah instructed imams to preach on the "right of return" for Palestinian Arabs and their descendants sequestered in refugee camps to their former homes in Israel.

Unlike Israel, which absorbed millions of Jewish immigrants, Arabs were kept as refugees, partially aided by the United Nations, to be used as future pawns, as evidenced today in the mosques of Ramallah and Gaza.

This is the reality Israel faces and has faced all along. Netanyahu, for his part, vowed to strengthen all segments of society.

"We will work to improve social welfare with emphasis on lowering the cost of living in general and housing costs in particular. We will work to continue to reduce the gaps in Israeli society," Netanyahu said. "We will continue to link the Negev and the Galilee with the center and to strengthen employment there and throughout the country."

"We are attentive to the cry of immigrants from Ethiopia and their families and next week we will form a special ministerial committee, under my chairmanship, to deal with this problem," he continued. "We are obligated to work for the good of all Israeli citizens, and we will do everything we can to justify the confidence the nation has vested in us."

While President Barack Obama continues to call for a two-state solution, one that would establish a "contiguous Palestinian state," effectively leaving Israel with indefensible borders and a 9-mile-wide waist, Netanyahu promised to "to promote a diplomatic settlement while upholding the vital interests and security of the citizens of Israel."

Netanyahu concluded his remarks by telling cabinet ministers, "Now, the time has come to roll up our sleeves and get to work."

"May our efforts be successful!" he said.