(JTA) Ben Sales - Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Tuesday, "Today I'm announcing my intention, with the establishment of the next government, to apply Israeli sovereignty to the Jordan Valley and the northern Dead Sea. This is our essential safety belt in the east." The Jordan Valley is in the part of the West Bank that is fully controlled by Israel, with the exception of the Palestinian city of Jericho. While sparsely populated, it is home to dozens of Israeli communities and has been controlled by Israel for more than 50 years. Successive Israeli governments have viewed control of the Jordan Valley as a strategic asset for Israel. It essentially creates a buffer between Israel and the Arab states farther to its east. Yitzhak Rabin, the Israeli prime minister who launched the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, said in 1995 that "The security border, for the defense of the State of Israel, will be in the Jordan Valley - broadly defined."
2019-09-11 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive