Mark Regev
Mark Regev
Mark Regevis an Israeli diplomat and civil servant, and the Ambassador of Israel to the United Kingdom since April 2016. Prior to that, he was the chief spokesman for the Prime Minister of Israel, a position he held from 2007 to 2015. Originally from Australia, he moved to Israel in 1982...
borders open security understand
We understand there are real needs, and we'll do what we can, but we can't just open up the borders immediately, because of security concerns. We'll do things incrementally.
close crossing decision maximum movement next opened security suicide threats wave weighed
We want to see maximum movement at the crossings, but that decision has to be weighed next to the very real security threats that there are, ... If we opened every crossing and there were a wave of suicide bombings, then we'd just have to close everything down again.
opening point suicide wave
There's no point of opening up all the crossings and have a wave of suicide bombings.
happens leave measured open options respond side
This is a measured response. We will respond to what happens on their side and leave as many options open as possible.
abandon comments community extremist eyes hope illusions iranian open president
We hope these extremist comments by the Iranian president will make the international community open its eyes and abandon any illusions about this regime.
cautious optimism word
I think we should use the word cautious optimism.
assessment jury
Our assessment is that the jury is still out.
appears extremists followed problem violent
It appears the problem with these extremists is that they followed through on their violent declarations with violent actions.
attacks business clear leadership message prevent send
When you have these attacks you can't go on with business as usual. We want to send a clear message to the Palestinian leadership that they have to do more to prevent violence.
anyone wrong
We were not more wrong than anyone else.
additional offered rejected security seen steps terrorist understand
We understand the needs, and we have offered another option, but the Palestinians rejected this. We have had to take additional security steps because we have seen an escalation in terrorist activity.
cosmetic course hope israelis minds move question whether
The question that many Israelis have on their minds is whether this is cosmetic or is this a substantial move in the right direction. Of course we very much hope it is the latter.
bring change community concerned leadership speaks
We are concerned that the only way to bring about the possibility of change in the incoming Palestinian leadership is if the international community speaks with one voice.
agenda appears body example hijacking
Unfortunately this appears to be another example of the hijacking of the agenda of a professional body of the U.N..