Officials of the Yesha Council of Jewish Communities in Judea, Samaria and Gaza met last night for the first time with US Ambassador to Israel Dan Kurtzer. Gush Etzion Regional Council head Sha'ul Goldstein talked with Arutz-7 last night about the meeting:
"There is a deep political dispute between us in certain areas, and for the first time, we were able to make our views known to the American Administration. The meeting went well on a personal level, but some difficult things were said. We spoke about four issues: the retreat plan from Gaza; the anti-terror partition fence; the outposts; and the 'de-limiting' of our communities within existing construction lines.
"Regarding Gaza, we explained the danger that we feel will face American soldiers in Iraq and all over the world if terrorism gains such a great victory in the form of our retreat from Gaza, and we emphasized and explained our Divine and historic bonds with this land. We also outlined our insistence that the anti-terrorism fence remain a security one and not a political border, and regarding the outposts, we tried to explain the Israeli mentality regarding preserving the land, as opposed to the American mentality - this wasn't easy to explain, but we tried. Finally, we said that under no circumstances could we accept limitations on our towns, which are living, developing, thriving entities that cannot be hindered or blocked, and that there is no way in the world to stop them."
A-7: "It appears a bit absurd, because he can say to you, 'Why are you talking to me about this? Speak to your own government about it!'"
Goldstein: "First of all, that's exactly what he said a few times, and secondly, we do speak with our government about these issues, all the time. But it's quite clear that the Americans have something to say about these matters, to put it mildly. We know that they speak with our government, and with Palestinians of all stripes, and with Yossi Beilin - and it's about time that the Jews of Yesha, as well, are counted in this game... We promised not to divulge what he said, but I can say that we heard very important things from him, and I greatly hope that meetings like this will continue."
"There is a deep political dispute between us in certain areas, and for the first time, we were able to make our views known to the American Administration. The meeting went well on a personal level, but some difficult things were said. We spoke about four issues: the retreat plan from Gaza; the anti-terror partition fence; the outposts; and the 'de-limiting' of our communities within existing construction lines.
"Regarding Gaza, we explained the danger that we feel will face American soldiers in Iraq and all over the world if terrorism gains such a great victory in the form of our retreat from Gaza, and we emphasized and explained our Divine and historic bonds with this land. We also outlined our insistence that the anti-terrorism fence remain a security one and not a political border, and regarding the outposts, we tried to explain the Israeli mentality regarding preserving the land, as opposed to the American mentality - this wasn't easy to explain, but we tried. Finally, we said that under no circumstances could we accept limitations on our towns, which are living, developing, thriving entities that cannot be hindered or blocked, and that there is no way in the world to stop them."
A-7: "It appears a bit absurd, because he can say to you, 'Why are you talking to me about this? Speak to your own government about it!'"
Goldstein: "First of all, that's exactly what he said a few times, and secondly, we do speak with our government about these issues, all the time. But it's quite clear that the Americans have something to say about these matters, to put it mildly. We know that they speak with our government, and with Palestinians of all stripes, and with Yossi Beilin - and it's about time that the Jews of Yesha, as well, are counted in this game... We promised not to divulge what he said, but I can say that we heard very important things from him, and I greatly hope that meetings like this will continue."