Bezalel Smotrich
Bezalel SmotrichFlash90

MK Betzalel Smotrich spoke to Arutz Sheva and referred to the meeting between President Trump and PA chairman Mahmoud Abbas. Smotrich warned against a renewal of the peace process, stating that "Israel must conduct its schedule as before. We must not be influenced by every meeting overseas."

Smotrich complained that the planning committee of the Civil Administration, which authorizes construction in Judea and Samaria, was supposed to meet but its meeting was postponed to the 10th of May due to the Trump-Abbas summit. Smotrich stressed that "we will insist that the committee meets and authorizes lots of building plans in Judea and Samaria.

Do you feel that Mahmoud Abbas can fulfill the conditions dictated by President Trump and stop incitement and funding of terrorists' families? Maybe this will reveal the true face of Abbas and the Palestinians?

Before we discuss the process and who will thwart it, we should first place the principles on the table. When discussing negotiations to establish a terror state in the heart of Israel, this is something we in the Jewish Home party cannot countenance.

If you want to mess around and filibuster and blame it on other people, this is the prime minister's strategy while in office and he has been successful at times, but in the long term it damages our position and brings more international pressure on Israel.

We believe that we should change our tone and talk of Jewish sovereignty in Judea and Samaria and not about unproven solutions of dividing the country but rather of unifying the country.

Was it a mistake for the right to rejoice in Trump's election as US president?

I don't think we need to place responsibility on the American president. It's hard to complain about him when the Israeli premier is still talking of two states

The president wants to help Netanyahu so he says 'lets freeze the settlements. Let's bring Abbas to the negotiating table' My problem is not with the process but with the solution at the end of the process.

I would have expected Netanyahu to stand before Trump and say to him. 'Let's think outside the box, let's start a new route, let's not do the same thing and expect different results, something that Einstein termed 'foolish.' For 20 years we've been trying this and it hasn't succeeded for obvious reasons.

The entire raison d'etre of the Palestinian nation is denial of the existence of Israel. There are contradictory national goals, its either us or them and it must be us. I'm convinced that if Netanyahu would have presented this approach to the American president we could have restarted the political process in a different direction.