Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu visited Shomeriyah in the northern Negev on Monday, and addressed the former residents of Atzmonah who have now made their home there.
Visiting possibly the most successful of the reconstructed Jewish communities that were destroyed in the Disengagement of 2005, Netanyahu spoke of the need to be re-inspired by the “spectacular historic sites of the Land of Israel.”
The ceremony was attended by Science Minister Rabbi Prof. Daniel Herskovitz of the Jewish Home party, who oversees a government assistance program for the expellees, MK Chaim Oron of the far-left Meretz party, who lives in nearby Kibbutz Lahav, and hundreds of residents.
Netanyahu was inspired by the historic Biblical sites in the area, which he called upon the new residents to reclaim. He said that on his way to the ceremony, he saw the hill of Tel Lachish: “I stopped the motorcade, we walked around, and I climbed the hill… And before me, I saw the amazing sight of one of the most spectacularly beautiful hills, and one of the richest in our history, in the history of mankind… Rabbi Yuval [the local rabbi], have the children been on Tel Lachish? This is our land; climb the hill! Visit this hill! Lead the people of Israel and foreign tourists in climbing it. Sennacherib [King of Assyria] came here and conquered the area; he came and went – we are here. After that the Babylonians came; they came and destroyed, conquered; but they fell – we are here. Many others came – but we are here, we are here in the Lachish Region, at Tel Lachish. It is in our possession, part of the State of Israel, of the Jewish people who returned to its land and re-established its sovereignty.”
Rehabilitating Spectacular Sites of Jewish Heritage
Netanyahu also mentioned nearby Tel Gezer: “Simon the Hasmonean said about Tel Gezer: ‘Not a foreign land have we conquered, but rather the inheritance of our Forefathers…’ I want there to be young people at Tel Gezer. I would like to speak about our heritage, our land, and our history. There is no future without the past; first and foremost, we must establish the past. Therefore, one decision we made on the way here today at that stop was that we will rehabilitate the spectacular sites of Jewish heritage, here and there and in other sites.”
Netanyahu said that he was taking a "personal interest” in putting an end to the four-year saga of impermanence for most of the Gush Katif expellees: “We want to bring this to an end. We want solutions for everyone, and they must happen now - so that people, especially the children, will know: ‘This is my home, this is my future, this is my place.’ This will provide peace of mind and return things to their natural track.”
“I ask for the cooperation of each and every one of you,” the Prime Minister said, “so that we can complete this work quickly. Quickly means a matter of months, certainly within a year, because I think that you should move on in your lives, and this is possible.”
Netanyahu admitted that the unilateral retreat from Gaza included many mistakes. Though he opposed the expulsion at the time, he voted in favor of it in a crucial Knesset vote; he later explained that otherwise he would have been fired by then-Prime Minister Ariel Sharon as Finance Minister and not afforded the opportunity to complete his far-reaching economic program.
“We cannot deny the mistakes made during the Disengagement,” Netanyahu told the former residents of the Gush Katif community of Atzmonah, “and unfortunately, we see that what we received in exchange is an Iranian base. “
Expulsion Led to Thousands of Rockets
“We did not get peace or security,” Netanyahu continued. “We suffered thousands of rockets fired at our communities, from Gan Yavne to Be’er Sheva, to Ashkelon and Ashdod, and of course, Sderot. We will not accept rockets fired on our communities. Not a dribble, not a trickle, not a hail of rockets and not ‘just one’ rocket. Israel will not suffer rocket fire. We will respond to every rocket fired. Yesterday there was rocket fire – and last night we responded. Our enemies should know that this is our policy. We will not suffer rocket fire on our communities. This clarity, this resolution should be clear to everyone.”
Two Demands: Recognition and Security
Regarding his future plans vis-à-vis peace with the Palestinian Authority, Netanyahu said, “We know that a unilateral abandonment, without an agreement, without security arrangements, without an exchange, without mutuality – all these create deterioration. We seek peace – genuine peace, a peace of recognition, a peace in which the other side recognizes our rights in this land, our history in this land, in the national right of the Jewish people to its own country, not because that will lead to the legitimacy of recognition for us, but because it is the only way our neighbors will begin to accept the fact of our existence and our right to exist here.”
Israel’s second fundamental demand, Netanyahu said, “is security. We must always ensure that there be appropriate security arrangements – not feeble ones that will later lead to attacks on our communities, on our children. These are two basic principles that we firmly insist on, and I think this is slowly being accepted by the international community.”
Adding Up the Equation
Equation Netanyahu's two demands - recognition and security - together with his promise not to retreat unilaterally, add up to his implied consent to withdraw by agreement from various areas of the homeland if "recognition and security" are achieved.
David Hatuel
Netanyahu concluded with words of admiration for one former Gush Katif resident: “I must say to you, David Hatuel, that I was moved to tears when hearing the story of your rehabilitation after [Gazan terrorist] murderers killed your wife and your four daughters [on the very day of the Likud referendum, the results of which – a rejection by Likud voters of the Disengagement – Sharon proceeded to ignore – ed.]. And now you have built a new family with Limor. You have children, and you live in [nearby] Amatziah and are building a home in Israel.”
“I thank you [plural] for your strength of spirit, and ask that you invite me to the inauguration of the new school soon. Invite me and I will come. Good luck, and thank you very much.”