Weeks after the crisis Falasha .. Ethiopian Prime Minister in Israel for the first time since his election

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called during a meeting in occupied Jerusalem with Ethiopian Prime Minister Abe Ahmed on Sunday to boost security cooperation between the two countries.

"We believe we can bring some of the experience we have gained to defend ourselves," Netanyahu said, while Israel's Channel 12 quoted the Ethiopian prime minister as saying he was seeking to attract Israeli investments into his country in the fields of technology, security, water and others.

Ethiopian Prime Minister Abe Ahmed is his first visit to Israel since he came to power in April 2018, while Netanyahu visited Ethiopia in July 2016, the first visit by an Israeli prime minister in the history of relations between the two sides.

Netanyahu hailed the country's prime minister in the Horn of Africa as "one of the most important and influential leaders in Africa."

The Falasha Jews Crisis
Abe Ahmed's visit to Israel comes in two specific contexts for Israel, one related to the crisis of Ethiopian Falasha Jews that erupted in the past two months over the death of a Jewish youth shot by an Israeli policeman.The second context is the elections that will take place in about two weeks.

Abe referred to the death of the young Jew several weeks ago, and described the incident as tragic.

Solomon Taka, 19, was killed during a brawl by a policeman in civilian clothes. The incident sparked violent demonstrations between Ethiopian Jews and Israeli police, including the closure of streets, clashes and arrests.

Falasha Jews are an Ethiopian Jewish community, whose origins differ. Tens of thousands were deported to Israel to strengthen the demography of the occupation and to consecrate the Jewish character of Israel. But it faced racist conditions that prompted it to organize multiple protests against successive Israeli governments.

For his part, Netanyahu said that the relationship between Israel and Ethiopia is established with the presence of 150 thousand Jews of Ethiopian origin in Israel, adding, "This relationship will be established by raising the levels of cooperation between us."

He said he would encourage Israeli investors to seek investment opportunities in Ethiopia.

According to a statement issued by Netanyahu, prominent members of the community were invited to meet Abi Ahmed, including the mother of the Israeli-Ethiopian Afira Mengistu, who is believed to have been held by the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) for five years.