RELATED:'Mossad doesn't accept losers'Tamir Pardo named next Mossad head“Usually, they do not have backing and support as a group, nor do they have tank or air assistance, and, in most cases, there is no possibility of rescue,” he said. “They operate with the sole protection of their sharp wits, their cover story and their courage. They cannot even tell their loved ones about what they are doing, and seclusion is their constant companion. What motivates them is the need to protect the Jewish People and the State of Israel.”Dagan, who was appointed by prime minister Ariel Sharon in 2002, served three premiers: Sharon, Ehud Olmert and Binyamin Netanyahu.He called on Netanyahu to “work to strengthen the ties between the Jewish Diaspora and the State of Israel so that we may uphold the verse in Ezekiel (11:17) ‘I will even gather you from the peoples, and assemble you out of the countries where you have been scattered, and I will give you the Land of Israel.’”Netanyahu thanked Dagan, who before he was Mossad director advised a number of prime ministers on counterterrorism, and said he has done “great things” for Israel’s security.“I cannot tell about all of your actions but I can tell ministers about a conversation we had in the Mossad offices, approximately one year ago,” Netanyahu said.“I sat in your office and I saw on the wall the picture of an elderly religious Jew, on his knees before Nazi thugs. This picture caught my eye and I asked you about it. You said that he was your grandfather. I asked you what happened to him. You told me, ‘They murdered him.’“Then I said, ‘Meir, I understand you, now I understand you. I understand your deep commitment to ensure that nobody could ever again be able to implement the threat of annihilating the Jewish People.’ This is both a personal and national order and you acted in accordance with it,” Netanyahu said.Dagan also received accolades from Defense Minister Ehud Barak, who praised him for his “creativity,” “imagination,” and “daring.”He said that Dagan’s subordinates always felt that he “understood the big picture, gave them support, and both knew and understood the details of their operations. He characterized Dagan’s contribution to the security of the state as “brilliant.”In other developments in the cabinet, the government on Sunday approved a NIS 184 million package of benefits for Sderot and communities adjacent to the Gaza Strip. The goal of the package, according to a cabinet communiqué, was to “advance and strengthen the resilience of the residents of the area.” The aid package includes:• Twenty percent tax credits for those making up to NIS 227,640 a year.• A 30% discount on local taxes for residences and 24% discount on these taxes for industry, business and services.• Economic assistance to local councils for special expenditures stemming from the security situation – NIS 8m. for Sderot and NIS 5m. to be shared among the Eshkol, Ashkelon Coast, Sdot Negev and Sha’ar Hanegev regional councils.• Psychological-social assistance for the population, at five locally-operated centers.• Continued assistance in operating emergency medical centers (increasing the number of intensive care ambulances, operating a night medical switchboard and reinforcing the mental health center in Sderot).And on another matter, the cabinet approved a NIS 15m. package to rehabilitate and upgrade the infrastructure damaged by the Carmel fire at the beginning of December. Water, sewage and electricity services, as well as roads and playgrounds in Ein Hud, Ein Hod, Yemin Orde, Nir Etzion, and Beit Oren will be upgraded as quickly as possible.Netanyahu will present a memorandum next week about a government decision to create a national firefighting authority, purchase fire-fighting planes and deal with preparing buildings to withstand earthquakes, he told the cabinet.
Ehud Zion Waldoks contributed to this report.