Knesset Lobby in Hevron
Knesset Lobby in HevronDavid Wilder

Members of the Knesset’s Israel Lobby toured Mount Hevron on Tuesday. The tour focused on the issue of renewable agriculture in Judea and Samaria and the MKs familiarized themselves with those Jewish individuals who work to make the desert bloom, as well as the problems they face as the Civil Administration tries to take away the lands they own and hand them over to Arabs.

The MKs visited the Har Hevron Regional Council and, as part of that visit, went up to the roof of the council building where they observed the marvelous landscape which can be seen from there.

From there the participants continued to the Cave of the Patriarchs where they took part in a toast in honor of Rosh Hashanah with Yesha Council Chairman Danny Dayan, Kiryat Arba-Hevron Mayor Malachi Levinger, and the heads of the Jewish community of Hevron.

The tour was attended by MKs Zeev Elkin and Aryeh Eldad who head the Israel Lobby in the Knesset, as well as by MKs Othniel Schneller (Kadima), Yulia Shamalov-Berkowitz (Kadima), Uri Ariel (National Union), Yaakov Katz (National Union), Tzipi Hotovely (Likud) and Avraham Michaeli (Shas).

MK Eldad told Arutz Sheva that the Israel Lobby plans to convene after the Knesset returns from its summer recess and discuss ways to prevent Jewish lands from being stolen and given to Arabs.

MK Hotovely called on the Israeli government to take advantage of the latest developments in the region and annex Judea and Samaria.

“This year was a very difficult one in the international arena,” she said. “It’s about time that we punish the Palestinians for their unilateral steps. I think that we have an historic opportunity to apply the Israeli law on these territories and we should annex Judea and Samaria now more than ever. We’ve gotten to the point where the status quo can’t continue.”

MK Elkin also addressed the issue of Israeli sovereignty in Judea and Samaria and said that one of the Israel Lobby’s major goals for the coming year is to promote various measures to gradually apply Israeli sovereignty in Judea and Samaria.