The Yesha Council, representing the Jewish communities in Judea, Samaria and Gaza, has once again called on U.S. Ambassador to Israel Daniel Kurtzer to stop intervening in Israeli life. Kurtzer, speaking at the third annual Herzliya Conference last night, said that the "settlers [of Yesha] do not represent the national consensus in Israel," and added that the "settlement enterprise today is not a must for the future existence of Israel." He also praised the "underground" channels of communication between left-wing "intellectuals and politicians" with the PA - underway even as the Israeli Government refuses to negotiate with an organization that continues to wage war against Israel.
MK Tzvi Hendel (National Union) called upon Foreign Minister Binyamin Netanyahu to urgently summon Kurtzer and inform him that his remarks are unacceptable - "especially now, in the middle of a war when Jews are being murdered." Hendel said that Kurtzer "is an extreme left-winger whose positions weaken Israel... He is fed by Beilin and his friends... IDF Chief of Staff Yaalon spoke out strongly [at the same forum] against touching the settlements... A normal government would have told the U.S. to please remove him from here..."
Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Moshe Yaalon, who also spoke in Herzliya last night, said, "If settlements are dismantled now, there will be a need for greater military forces to maintain our security in the future. If the intention is to economize on army forces, it will achieve the exact opposite." He also said that it would encourage the Palestinians: "If we dismantle settlements while terrorism rages against us, we will pay a much higher price in the end because of the strong push this will give the Palestinian fight." Yaalon insisted that terrorism must be stopped before any diplomatic progress is made.
Speaking at the same conference was NRP leader Infrastructures Minister Effie Eitam, who said that all unilateral solutions, including transfer, are doomed to fail. He therefore presented his proposal for a Palestinian entity to be formed in the Sinai desert. An Egyptian representative responded that such a plan would destabilize the Israeli-Egyptian peace treaty. Meretz party leader Yossi Sarid proposed that all of Yesha be handed over to an international mandate.
MK Tzvi Hendel (National Union) called upon Foreign Minister Binyamin Netanyahu to urgently summon Kurtzer and inform him that his remarks are unacceptable - "especially now, in the middle of a war when Jews are being murdered." Hendel said that Kurtzer "is an extreme left-winger whose positions weaken Israel... He is fed by Beilin and his friends... IDF Chief of Staff Yaalon spoke out strongly [at the same forum] against touching the settlements... A normal government would have told the U.S. to please remove him from here..."
Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Moshe Yaalon, who also spoke in Herzliya last night, said, "If settlements are dismantled now, there will be a need for greater military forces to maintain our security in the future. If the intention is to economize on army forces, it will achieve the exact opposite." He also said that it would encourage the Palestinians: "If we dismantle settlements while terrorism rages against us, we will pay a much higher price in the end because of the strong push this will give the Palestinian fight." Yaalon insisted that terrorism must be stopped before any diplomatic progress is made.
Speaking at the same conference was NRP leader Infrastructures Minister Effie Eitam, who said that all unilateral solutions, including transfer, are doomed to fail. He therefore presented his proposal for a Palestinian entity to be formed in the Sinai desert. An Egyptian representative responded that such a plan would destabilize the Israeli-Egyptian peace treaty. Meretz party leader Yossi Sarid proposed that all of Yesha be handed over to an international mandate.