By: Aryeh Savir
Leaders of Israel’s ideological right had harsh words for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu following the announced peace agreement between Israel and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) along with the apparent rejection or long-term postponement of Israel’s plans to declare sovereignty in part of Judea and Samaria.
The US-formulated Deal of the Century, officially titled “Vision for Peace, Prosperity, and a Brighter Future,” calls for the Israeli annexation of some 30% of the territory in Judea and Samaria already under its control, with the remaining 70% becoming a Palestinian state.
The Israeli government had a window of opportunity to move forward with the plan during the summer, and before the elections in the US in November, experts believe.
In September 2019, Netanyahu explicitly vowed to apply sovereignty to the Jordan valley and the northern region of the Dead Sea immediately after his election.
“No Israeli Prime Minister has ever brought a map like this to the Israeli voter. We haven’t had such an opportunity since the Six-Day War, and I doubt we’ll have another opportunity in the next 50 years,” Netanyahu stated.
“Give me the power to guarantee Israel’s security. Give me the power to determine Israel’s borders,” he declared at the time.
However, the agreement with the UAE is entailed with an indefinite postponement of the only “opportunity in the next 50 years.”
Head of the Gush Etzion Regional Council Shlomo Ne’eman said that “if this is indeed a deal to reject sovereignty in exchange for a peace agreement with the United Arab Emirates, then this is a very serious matter.”
“Our eternal right to Judea and Samaria and the civil rights of Israelis living in Judea and Samaria are non-negotiable – not with neighbors near us, or those further away,” he declared.
“We welcome any agreement that normalizes the Middle East, just as long as it’s not obtained by concessions, namely giving up parts of our homeland. Our expectation is that just as the prime minister knows how to be a political acrobat domestically, in the international arena he will also know how to bring the sovereignty he promised the Israeli people countless times,” he demanded.
Head of the Benyamin Regional Council Yisrael Gantz expressed “disappointment with the historic failure to apply sovereignty.”
(TPS)