Counterterrorism, AI & direct flights: Argentina & Israel sign ‘Isaac Accords’ amid President Milei's visit

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Argentine President Javier Milei launched the “Isaac Accords” in a joint ceremony on Sunday, deepening the cooperation between the two friendly nations in several areas.

Netanyahu said the accords were a step toward “the alliance of freedom” for all of Latin America. “You know, we had Abraham, we had Isaac, what will be the Jacob Accords? I'm thinking about it right now… this is our first step.”

“I think that this is also a compass and a map for other countries, not only for their internal reforms but also for their external reforms... It begins with the two of us and with the support that is always there of the United States for free societies,” Netanyahu said.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is now meeting at his office in Jerusalem with the President of Argentina Javier Milei @JMilei.

🇮🇱🤝🇦🇷 pic.twitter.com/rJyHmJ0WQl

— Prime Minister of Israel (@IsraeliPM) April 19, 2026

According to a statement by the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), the Isaac Accords “constitute a strategic framework aimed at strengthening cooperation between Argentina, Israel, and other like-minded nations in South, Central, and North America, the descendants of the Patriarch Isaac and nations founded on the Judeo-Christian tradition, countries that share common values of defending freedom, democracy, and the struggle against terrorism, antisemitism, and drug trafficking.”

“Israel is now a leading technological power, and Argentina has the human capital and regulatory freedom to become the world’s next AI center,” Milei said in his address in Spanish at the ceremony, according to Channel 12 News.

“We will develop joint models, train experts, and work together in international forums where the future of this technological revolution is determined,” he vowed, calling the agreement “a historic moment for our nations.”

“Argentina and Israel are brothers in pain since the terror attack on the embassy in Buenos Aires,” he added, referring to the deadly 1992 bombing of Israel’s embassy in Argentina by Iran. “Today we are asking for justice, and will move the embassy to Jerusalem."

The main part of the agreement consists of three Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs) signed by the two countries' foreign ministers, Gideon Sa'ar and Pablo Quirno.

The first MOU focuses on increasing cooperation in counterterrorism. After officially designating Hamas as a terror group in 2024, Milei added Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) to the terror list earlier this year.

For the first time: Direct flight route between Israel and Argentina: In the presence of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President of Argentina Javier Milei, the opening of a direct flight route between Israel and Argentina was announced today.https://t.co/a5dnENEyCv pic.twitter.com/IIxuGdbhzl

— Prime Minister of Israel (@IsraeliPM) April 19, 2026

The second MOU focuses on “AI cooperation between the National AI Directorate in the Prime Minister's Office and the National Secretariat for Innovation, Science, and Technology of the Argentine Republic,” aiming to “develop cooperation and reciprocity in the field of AI, and to share experience, skills, and knowledge in AI technologies and their supporting infrastructure.”

The third MOU received the most media coverage in Israel, as it includes the creation of a direct flight route between Tel Aviv and the Argentine capital Buenos Aires by Israel’s national carrier, El Al.

The goal is to advance “deeper economic ties between the countries, facilitating business activity and international cooperation, and contributing to the expansion of trade volumes and investments between Israel” and Latin America.

“Direct flights between Israel and Argentina will make the friendship between our countries even closer,” Netanyahu said.

Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich added that “promoting a direct flight route between Israel and Argentina is part of a broader effort to strengthen Israel's economic and strategic connections with international markets. In the current period, it is especially important to deepen ties with friendly nations and create infrastructure that will support growth, trade, and passenger traffic.”

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu:
"This is the third visit of my friend, my chaver, Javier @JMilei, in Jerusalem. But he's not merely a personal friend and someone who I deeply admire as a great leader, a great economic leader and a great world leader.https://t.co/LfMM9r8YFi pic.twitter.com/twu3m0ZyaC

— Prime Minister of Israel (@IsraeliPM) April 19, 2026

Netanyahu said one of his pleasures in public life is “to take a machete and chop through the bureaucracy.”

“What we have done here is compress Israeli bureaucracy into nothing. Because we have just passed the unimaginable free navigation, direct flight between Israel and Argentina, and we cut through all layers of bureaucracy.”

Praising Milei’s friendship in joint remarks on Sunday evening, Netanyahu said, “This is the first time in Israel's history, in 78 years, that we award a foreign leader with the honor of lighting a torch on our Independence Day.”

“Under your leadership, Argentina has spoken with moral clarity. This is the foundation of leadership,” he continued.

“We just don't have better partners in the world than the United States of America and the great democracy of Argentina, and you have made it greater… So, thank you, Javier, for everything that you have done. Know that you are now, since you are a Lubavitcher, you are now part of the mishpachah, part of our family, in the deepest sense of the word. Thank you, my friend. Welcome to Jerusalem, you and your ministers.”