Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met in Tel Aviv on Thursday with the heads of the local councils in Judea and Samaria to discuss two main issues: sanctions against “settlers” and the severe security situation in the region.
Israel Gantz, head of both the Binyamin Regional Council and the Yesha Council, told the prime minister, “We cannot wait until the U.S. elections to deal with the sanctions. The country already has a knife to its throat. Unfortunately, the State of Israel has not made an outright statement against the sanctions and did not formulate practical steps to put a stop to this threat, the aim of which is to establish a Palestinian state.”
Netanyahu promised to set up a team to deal with the sanctions. He reminded the heads of the councils that the U.S. is in an election period, so everything there is very sensitive, and asked them to wait until November.
The premier said that he views the sanctions very seriously and said that “we are working to stop it.” He then added, “This is a matter for the entire State of Israel and not just Judea and Samaria.”
Netanyahu said that security in Judea and Samaria and in the communities along the Seam Line would be further strengthened.
Gantz implored him to take more decisive action.
Yossi Dagan, chairman of the Samaria Regional Council, “These brazen sanctions are a complete devastation of Israeli sovereignty, a personal injury to people who have never done a thing, some of whom are not even the subject of investigation—and without a prior hearing.
“This is a slippery slope that is clearly dangerous for the senior military officers, for government minsters, and for the prime minister himself. The citizens of the State of Israel expect an answer.
“If foreign governments impose sanctions on citizens of the State of Israel as though there is no sovereign state in Israel, Israel has to completely stop sending funds to the Palestinian Authority for all it implies. I call on the prime minister to declare that if these brazen sanctions are not halted, the government can also take unilateral steps to apply sovereignty in Judea and Samaria,” Dagan said.
Efrat Mayor Dovi Shefler said, “I presented a proposal to correct the historical mistake made in the Oslo Accords, and to immediately transfer Solomon’s Pools, which were part of the most spectacular water plant from the Hasmonean era until our times, to Area C [under complete Israeli control], as they should have been from the start.”
“… and I requested that the prime minister permit us to build thousands of housing units within the next few years already, so that we can strengthen our hold on Bethlehem,” Shefler said.
‘Oslo is dying’
Kedumim Mayor Oziel Vatik said, “The Oslo Accords are dying—we have to get ready for their death. The war against Iran, which is being waged on seven fronts at the same time, proves above and beyond that our enemies’ intentions are finally coming to fruition.
“All these years, the State of Israel has abstained and conducted itself frugally with Judea and Samaria for fear of international law. Now, after the decision of the International Court of Justice in The Hague, after Oct. 7, and after the imposition of international sanctions, their covers have been blown,” Vatik continued.
“The situation in Judea and Samaria has been exacerbated at an alarming rate and we have to move from the defensive to the offensive. We have to think broadly and already plan for the stage after the cancellation of the Oslo Accords, which are already lying on the ground and dying,” he said.
“Alongside this, we have to increase IDF activity in the cities and villages; we must surprise the terrorists in their homes, collect weapons, and eliminate militants. Moreover, we must make practical plans for the day after Oslo. We are doing this in Kedumim, but there is a need to plan for this across the country,” Vatik said.
After the meeting, Shai Alon, head of the Beit El Local Council, said, “In the meeting, I made it clear to the prime minister the injustice of the American sanctions imposed on the settlers of Judea and Samaria and right-wing activists, and demanded that this flawed policy be stopped.
“No country should be allowed to harm our sovereignty and impose sanctions on Israeli citizens at its whim. Israel has the right to be an independent state that manages its own internal and external policies.
“Democratic America is controlled by an administration that acts against democracy,” said Alon. “Silencing and imposing sanctions against those who think differently from the American administration, interfering in the domestic and foreign policies of another state, and striving to topple an Israeli government that the current American administration does not like, are dictatorial actions.
“I made it clear to PM Netanyahu that the day is not far off when sanctions will be imposed on the heads of the local councils in Judea and Samaria, and even on the prime minister himself, if we do not put an end to this flawed policy here and now. We demand to act with all the force and means against these antisemitic organizations and put an end to this dictatorial phenomenon,” Alon said.
Terror capitals
The council heads also discussed terrorism with Netanyahu.
Gantz said, “The way the military is perceived in Judea and Samaria is no match to the threat. There has been no change in this perception. Jenin and Tulkarem have become terror capitals and need to be dealt with exactly as Gaza and Rafah has been dealt with.
“Evacuate the [Arab] population and uproot all the terror infrastructure. The threat is aimed at the entire center of the country. The next massacre is being planned for Bat Hefer, Kfar Saba and Tel Aviv,” he said.
“The security situation in Judea and Samaria endangers the entire State of Israel. It is a powder keg with very disturbing developments that have not been seen here since the liberation of Judea and Samaria by the IDF in the Six-Day War,” they told him.
A group of American Jews and evangelical Christians filed a lawsuit in U.S. federal court this week challenging the Biden administration’s sanctions against Israelis accused of undermining “peace, security and stability” in Judea and Samaria.
Last month, 55 Knesset members submitted a petition asking Netanyahu to use his address to the U.S. Congress on July 24 to denounce the Biden administration’s sanctions against Israeli citizens and entities in Judea and Samaria.
