We will not uproot any settlement in any peace plan - Netanyahu

PM addresses his stance and reiterates commitment to never again allow the uprooting of Jews from their homes; Abbas denies reports of secret meetings with Trump Administration officials; Netanyahu: I make no distinction between the settlement blocs and isolated settlement sites. Each spot is Israeli from my point of view.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reiterated his commitment to never uproot Israeli settlements in Judea and Samaria during an event in the town of Revava in the West Bank on Wednesday. Netanyahu addressed his policy and promise to not remove Jews from their homes as well as his stance on settlements and settlement blocs, which he considers both Israeli territory.

Netanyahu stated on Wednesday night, “Here’s a commitment… We won’t let any community in the land of Israel be uprooted in the name of a diplomatic plan. We don’t uproot people – we are done with that nonsense. Israel under my leadership hasn’t and won’t repeat the mistakes of the past,” in reference to Israel’s withdrawal from the Gaza Strip in 2005 under late Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, as well as other instances of forcefully removing Jews from their homes in Judea and Samaria.

He reiterated, “We will not allow the dismantling of any settlement in any peace plan,” and clarified his stance, “I make no distinction between the settlement blocs and isolated settlement sites. Each spot is Israeli from my point of view.”

President Trump’s “Deal of the Century” could be released before Israel’s elections in September, according to the President’s envoy to the Middle East, Jason Greenblatt. While the first phase of the deal, economic incentives for the Palestinians, Egyptians, Lebanon, and Jordan, was released during the recent Bahrain workshop, the Trump Administration has been clear that it cannot successfully work with the Palestinian Authority (PA) boycotting their efforts.

There have been media reports of covert meetings between Trump officials and the Palestinians. However, a spokesman for PA President Mahmoud Abbas, Majdi al-Khaldi, refuted the reports on Wednesday, claiming, “The reports are inaccurate. Our firm position is that political contacts can only be restored after the United States endorses a two-state solution and international legitimacy and recognizes that East Jerusalem is occupied.”

Prime Minister Netanyahu vowed to annex settlement blocs in the West Bank if elected to a fifth term as prime minister. He again echoed his promise, stating that if elected, “we will move on to the next stage, to gradually apply Israeli sovereignty in the territories of Judea and Samaria.”

Source: BeholdIsrael