Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited the Galilee to discuss regional recovery, development plans, and the return of students to school.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited the Galilee region in northern Israel on Monday amid the start of the school year.
He was accompanied by the Prime Minister’s Office’s acting Director-General Drorit Steinmetz and Knesset coalition chair MK Ofir Katz. They met with the mayor of Nof Hagalil, Afula, Migdal Ha’emek, Tiberias, and Karmiel, as well as the acting mayor of Nazareth, and the head of the Jezreel Valley Regional Council, holding the meeting at Nof Hagalil’s Begin school.
Netanyahu, after the meeting, discussed the rehabilitation efforts underway in northern Israel, stating that he knows there are “still big tasks ahead.”
The Galilee, which Netanyahu noted experienced many residents fleeing amid the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war after Hezbollah started launching projectiles into the region, has now seen “a big return,” with over 95% of children returning to study in schools, including in border communities.
The prime minister referred to this as “the biggest task” that has to be achieved, adding that doing so is a “truly enormous achievement” made possible thanks to the “resilience of the Galilee residents and mayors who stood firm.”
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks after meeting local leaders in the Galilee, September 1, 2025. (credit: OMER MIRON/GPO, NIR SHERF/GPO)
Netanyahu also stated that those present at the meeting discussed what needs to be done to improve the Galilee region. These topics include adding fast transportation routes, additional construction projects, reducing bureaucracy, improving infrastructure, and providing better employment opportunities.
Galilee is ‘our heritage land, the land of the Bible,’ Netanyahu says
“I want young couples to come here,” he said. “They call this area Tuscany, but it’s not exactly Tuscany; it predates Tuscany. It’s the land of the Bible, our heritage land,” Netanyahu commented, referring to comparisons between the Galilee and the region in northern Italy also known for its diverse natural landscape.
“There are wonderful things here. We will propel the Galilee forward,” he added.