Sovereignty activists hoping to see the day the Israeli government annexes all of Judea and Samaria, in addition to the Jordan Valley, lost no time in praising Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday following his campaign promise to apply sovereignty to the northern Dead Sea region and the Jordan Valley after the elections.
Netanyahu proposed an annexation plan that he said would include all the Jewish communities on the Israeli side of his proposed border for eastern Israel, but would exclude Jericho and its environs, and “doesn’t annex even one Palestinian.”
WATCH: Netanyahu Vows This [Plan] Will Ensure Judea and Samaria Won’t Become Gaza
In response to Netanyahu’s statement, Gush Etzion Regional Council head Shlomo Ne’eman said that applying sovereignty to Judea and Samaria in general and specifically to Gush Etzion is a “dream come true! These are the dreams of the heroic founders who settled the land and who sacrificed their lives in the War of Independence, and our dream, sitting here on this beautiful mountain as part of our national mission.
“The Jordan Valley is a good start and we relate to this as the beginning of the road. It’s been 52 years with a military government in Judea and Samaria and today begins the end of a chapter and the starting of a new process, one that is correct and just, which will change the reality for the better,” he said.
“It is the only chapter that can continue the process of returning our nation to its country,” Ne’eman added. “The Prime Minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, is not the only one who recognizes the necessity of the move and is carrying it out, rather the other nations of the world with the American government at the helm, will recognize the move, and will join the nation of Israel in his historic mission.
“Following the Jordan Valley it must be Gush Etzion’s turn next and afterwards the rest of our homeland. That is the order of the day. There are many critics on the left of our political map and some believe the Prime Minister is only carrying this out for political gain. But we believe that Prime Minister Netanyahu is making history today!”
The leaders of the Sovereignty Movement organization, Women In Green leaders Yehudit Katsover and Nadia Matar also praised Netanyahu’s announcement, calling it “a move that puts a damper on the delusional idea of establishing another Arab state in the heart of our Land. The Sovereignty movement emphasizes that sovereignty over the Jordan Valley must be a first significant step towards the complete process of applying Israeli sovereignty to all of Judea and Samaria.”
The prime minister, they said, once again “proves that he is aware of the Zionist vision laid on his shoulder at this historic time, and the political momentum that allowed recognition of Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights, the transfer of the US embassy and other embassies to Jerusalem, and now the application of sovereignty in the Jordan Valley.”
However, they added, “one must be vigilant and make sure that this is not a partial “compensation” for withdrawals elsewhere in Judea and Samaria. There are no deals on any part of the Land of Israel. The Land of Israel fulfills the Zionist vision of applying Israeli sovereignty to it. We welcome the return to the election campaign of ideological value discourse and the full duty of loyalty to the Land of Israel.”