Oded Ravivi
Oded RaviviYisrael Berdugo

Efrat Mayor Oded Ravivi demanded that the government "avoid salami solutions" and formulate a final solution to the Arab-Israeli conflict.

"People are talking now about a solution of sovereignty and asking what should be done with one or two million Palestinian Arabs," said Ravivi at the 14th Jerusalem Conference. "Some will say that this is not our problem, but I believe it is. Europe is closed, the US is closed, even Arab countries are closed, there is nowhere for the Palestinians to go, the facts are that they are here and we are here and we have to develop a plan which provides a solution for all of our needs."

Ravivi added that we should not at present discuss possible terror threats nor what the Europeans might say."When we approve 100 housing units we get the same criticism as if we approved 1000, so why get 10 condemnations when we can have just one? We legislated the Golan law, got angry responses and stayed alive."

"We united East Jerusalem and the Western Wall is still standing. They threatened that if we build in Har Homa there would be violent repercussions. We were determined and built and there were no repercussions, the world's approach is apparently more flexible [than we think.]"

Ravivi stressed that in the 50th year since the redemption of Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria, Israel needs to formulate a clear strategy which involves thinking in an innovative fashion, "a plan which could utilize the opportunities of our neighbors in the Middle East, a plan which takes into account the non-conventional approach of the US president, a plan which provides a solution for us and our friends who are asking how the State will look."

"If we are convinced that we have become a permanent feature in the Middle East and our enemies have accepted our existence, we must now move from tactics - which have worked quite well - to developing a strategy," he explained.

Ravivi says that the new American administration does not expect to hear dreams from Israel but rather a practical plan. "I am against a phased plan. There is a phased plan in place but it is unacceptable to us. I want bold, far-reaching decisions. The discussion now on the best possible solution for Judea and Samaria should be based on the reality we have created. If we act intelligently we will understand that there are rules and regulations which must be respected and that power has its limitations."