|
Trending Topics
|
Israel Keeping the Jordan Valley Aligns with U.S. Peace Plan
(Jerusalem Post) Gil Hoffman - Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Tuesday that steps to apply sovereignty over all Jewish communities in the West Bank, starting with the Jordan Valley, would be taken in coordination with the U.S. Netanyahu said, "There is a unique and once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to do something with broad consensus and bring safe permanent borders to the State of Israel. This will ensure that Judea and Samaria do not become Gaza, and that Kfar Saba, Netanya and Tel Aviv will not become like communities along the border of Gaza." He said Israel could carry out the plan without annexing a single Palestinian, and ensuring that Palestinians maintain complete freedom of movement throughout the West Bank. He hinted that the plan had been coordinated with the U.S. "Over the past few days the diplomatic conditions have become ready," he said. Sources close to Netanyahu said that Israel keeping the Jordan Valley is in the U.S. peace plan. The White House peace team did not consider his statement as one that would prevent a future agreement between Israel and the Palestinians. Netanyahu's main rivals, Blue and White party leaders Benny Gantz and Yair Lapid, have said in the past that they too envision Israel keeping the Jordan Valley forever.