Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, this afternoon (Thursday, 17 January 2013), spoke with French President Francois Hollande and expressed his appreciation for the French military action in Africa. The Prime Minister expressed his regret over the loss of life among the French forces and told the French President, "You took a brave step against extremist Islamic terrorism. In my meetings with African leaders I learned how much it threatens the future of the continent. While there are countries for which the threat of terrorism is thousands of kilometers away from the homes of their citizens, we in Israel are familiar with the threat of global terrorism from up close. For us it is only a few hundred meters away from our homes."