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Video - Knesset Speaker: Applying Israeli Sovereignty in Jordan Valley Could Bring Us Closer to Peace
(CNN) Becky Anderson - Knesset Speaker Yuli Edelstein told CNN on Thursday: "We are talking about the plan of applying Israeli sovereignty to the area of the Jordan Valley, an area not densely populated by the Palestinians, and the prime minister was very clear that sovereignty would not apply to the town of Jericho where the Palestinians live, according to the Oslo agreements." "On this particular issue of the Jordan Valley, I would justify it with two paragraphs: One, our historic rights there in the area, and the other one - every military expert I know and you know would agree that it's impossible to defend the State of Israel without military control in this area. So with these two issues combined I think that is quite obvious that under no negotiations will we be able to give up the Jordan Valley." "Unfortunately, I haven't seen any negotiations for the last several years. I regret that. That's definitely not Israel's fault or Netanyahu's fault. But I would dare say, I noticed your stress on the word 'unilateral.' When we were protesting Israel's unilateral withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, I don't remember that anyone was talking so negatively about unilateral steps." "The results are very well-known. The moment we uprooted all the Jewish communities there and withdrew all the Israel Defense Forces from the Gaza Strip, we've been in an ongoing war on our southern border for the last 14 years." "I think that as far as the Jordan Valley plan is concerned, it could bring us even closer to peace because things will become more clear. Right now with this probably illusion of some people about the future of this area, it makes it harder to negotiate."