Uri Naamati, head of the Eshkol Regional Council, led a protest against the Geneva initiative today. He and his co-residents particularly object to the clause in the agreement that would hand over Negev lands that border his communities to Palestinian Authority control, in exchange for the small areas over the Green Line that Israel would retain. "I'm not saying that we don't have to make territorial concessions in exchange for peace," Naamati told Arutz-7 today, "but Green Line [dividing Judea/Samaria/Gaza from pre-1967 Israel is the absolute minimum; it's our red line... There is no guarantee that this peace plan will work, and if it doesn't, places like Kibbutz Kisufim will be mortally endangered by being only 400 meters from the new border."
Residents of another area to be similar affected, the Shaar HaNegev Regional Council, met on Friday with Geneva-proponent Amram Mitzna, who recently resigned from a short term as leader of the Labor Party. Arutz-7's Moshe Priel reports that the residents, left-wingers themselves, say they feel betrayed and deceived by the intention of the Geneva people to give away land belonging to their kibbutzim.
Alon Shuster, Shaar HaNegev Regional Council chief, said, "The majority of the residents here have supported all political agreements throughout the peace process. But it is unacceptable that the initiators of the Geneva Accord chose to stoop to the lowest possible point, creating the most dangerous situation in the most irresponsible manner. It is clear to everybody that the breakdown of the Oslo Accords proved, in a manner impossible to ignore, that the next peace agreement must not leave us unable to defend ourselves. Terror groups will try to sabotage the agreement in any way possible. It is unacceptable that our communities will be only 400 meters from high-rise building from which Arab snipers can shoot at us."
Residents of another area to be similar affected, the Shaar HaNegev Regional Council, met on Friday with Geneva-proponent Amram Mitzna, who recently resigned from a short term as leader of the Labor Party. Arutz-7's Moshe Priel reports that the residents, left-wingers themselves, say they feel betrayed and deceived by the intention of the Geneva people to give away land belonging to their kibbutzim.
Alon Shuster, Shaar HaNegev Regional Council chief, said, "The majority of the residents here have supported all political agreements throughout the peace process. But it is unacceptable that the initiators of the Geneva Accord chose to stoop to the lowest possible point, creating the most dangerous situation in the most irresponsible manner. It is clear to everybody that the breakdown of the Oslo Accords proved, in a manner impossible to ignore, that the next peace agreement must not leave us unable to defend ourselves. Terror groups will try to sabotage the agreement in any way possible. It is unacceptable that our communities will be only 400 meters from high-rise building from which Arab snipers can shoot at us."