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First, he began the day with a huge thank you to President Trump and his administration.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made a special visit to the Gush Etzion area of the Judean Hills today to make an extra special thank you to the Trump administration for the announcement last night about the US policy change regarding Jewish communities in Judea & Samaria.
To make this day even more historic, Netanyahu approved the Jordan Valley sovereignty bill. This means that the bill will now be expedited through parliament for approval. This is a huge first step towards Israeli sovereignty in Judea and Samaria. If passed, this bill would start with the application of sovereignty only in the Jordan Valley, but this is only just the beginning.
Even though Israel still does not have a government, both major parties, including Likud’s rival party Blue & White, have come out in support of applying sovereignty to the Jordan Valley, so regardless of the delicate political situation, it most likely will pass. Nothing less than historic.
The Sovereignty Movement welcomed the U.S. President’s declaration that settlement in Judea and Samaria does not violate international law.
Netanyahu called the Trump’s administration change to US policy “historic”, as the UN and others condemned it.
“This is a very great day for the State of Israel and an achievement that will stand for generations.” “The Trump administration has corrected a historical injustice and lined up with truth and justice. I thank President [Donald] Trump and Secretary of State Pompeo,” Netanyahu said as he sat together with Shlomo Ne’eman the Mayor of the Gush Etzion Regional Council.
Ne’eman told Netanyahu that the US declaration was a “great step forward” for the application of sovereignty to Judea and Samaria.“I admit that I am very moved,” Netanyahu said. “We are here, in Gush Etzion, a place from which we were expelled during the War of Independence. Here we are on a historic day with another tremendous achievement for the State of Israel, for which we have worked greatly.”
Journalist Caroline Glick wrote how this announcement is no less than a diplomatic turning point:
“In the interest of promoting peace, Pompeo instead told the truth. Not only are Israeli settlements not illegal. Pompeo noted that they are arguably more justified than civilian settlements built in other disputed territories.
In his words, the administration’s determination “is based on the unique facts, history, and circumstances presented by the establishment of civilian settlements in the West Bank.” That is, it is based on the historic ties of the Jewish people to Judea and Samaria. These ties lay at the heart of Jewish history and religion.”
“Finally, Pompeo said that the legal status of the settlements is itself irrelevant to prospects for peace. As he put it, “There will never be a judicial resolution to the conflict, and arguments about who is right and who is wrong as a matter of international law will not bring peace. This is a complex political problem that can only be solved by negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians.”
“Pompeo’s statement, and indeed the Trump administration’s decision to publish its position now represents a complete rebuke of the European Union. The EU has made its false determination that Israeli settlements in Judea and Samaria are illegal the basis for its hostile, discriminatory economic and political policies towards Israel.”
