by Israel Hayom Staff
Despite talk, Likud sources say PM Netanyahu unlikely to promote change to status quo at this time.
A number of lawmakers on the Right are
saying that now is the time to annex Judea and Samaria. The call to
impose Israeli sovereignty over the disputed territories follows U.S.
Vice President Mike Pence's visit to Israel
last week, boycotted by the Palestinians, during which Pence delivered a
strong speech in support of Israel as well as Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu's Friday meeting
with U.S. President Donald Trump in Davos, ahead of which Trump
criticized what he called the Palestinians' lack of respect for the U.S.
and reiterated his support for the decision to officially recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital. Both the U.S. officials appeared to put the onus on restarting peace talks on the Palestinians
Right-wing lawmakers pushing for Israel's
annexation of Judea and Samaria say the move would likely be met with
indifference by the current U.S. administration, which they believe
would not attempt to thwart the move.
Jerusalem Affairs Minister Zeev Elkin on
Saturday said, "Regardless of President Trump, there is importance to
advancing Israeli sovereignty" over Judea and Samaria. He said such a
move would have "great advantages, largely due to the fact that this is
first of all the realization of Israeli aspirations. All of the places
over which there is a broad consensus can be annexed, and every such
advancement will be welcomed."
Tourism Minister Yariv Levin said, "Our
right to the land in its entirety is indisputable. Especially at this
time, we must act to reach an understanding with the Americans and to
begin the process of annexing Area C," he said referring an area of
Judea and Samaria that under the 1993 Oslo Accords remains under full
Israeli civil and security control. "This will bolster security as well
as ensure the future of the State of Israel."
According to Deputy Foreign Minister Tzipi
Hotovely, "Israeli sovereignty over Jewish settlements in Judea and
Samaria is the correct and important move," which she said "must be
implemented in coordination with the American administration.
"I am happy that this idea is a consensus
in the Likud. … The most natural thing is to see the half a million
settlers [be treated] as citizens for whom Israeli law applies in full
and for whom there is no separate legal system under martial law.
"It is clear to me that a majority of the
Israeli public is ripe for the process of imposing Israeli sovereignty
over the Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria. This is the direction
we should aspire to," she said.
A number of ministers and lawmakers from
the Likud party have expressed support in the past for Israel's
annexation of parts of Judea and Samaria, among them Knesset Speaker
Yuli Edelstein, Welfare and Social Services Minister Haim Katz and MK
Oren Hazan.
Habayit Hayehudi leader Education Minister
Naftali Bennett has called annexation the only means for preventing the
establishment of another terrorist state overlooking Highway 6, a major
north-south route, and called for other parties like the centrist Yesh
Atid to support the initiative.
Nevertheless, Most Likud members believe
Netanyahu will not endorse any move that will alter the status quo in
Judea and Samaria. They say that aside from statements by ministers and
lawmakers, at this stage, any attempt to initiate such a move is
unfeasible.
Last month, the Likud Central Committee unanimously voted to pass a resolution in favor of annexing Jewish communities inside Judea and Samaria to
Israel. According to the wording of the nonbinding resolution, "Marking
the 50th anniversary of the liberation of Judea and Samaria, including
Jerusalem our eternal capital, the Likud Central Committee calls on
elected Likud officials to act to allow free construction and impose the
laws of the State of Israel and its sovereignty over all the liberated
settlement areas in Judea and Samaria."
Israel Hayom Staff
Source: http://www.israelhayom.com/2018/01/28/our-right-to-the-land-in-its-entirety-is-indisputable/
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