Israel’s Consul General in New York, Ofir Akunis, met with mayors and heads of regional councils at the Jewish National Fund-USA conference. Akunis said that “in the coming months, positive announcements are expected from countries in our region and beyond that will join the Abraham Accords. This is an enormous economic opportunity for all of Israel.”

He warned, however, that “the other side of normalization progress is Hezbollah’s significant armament in Lebanon and the presence of armed Hamas terrorists in Gaza. The second stage of the agreement is Gaza’s demilitarization and the disarmament of the Hamas monsters — and we insist on that to the end.”