PM underlines Israel’s security concerns regarding West Bank

Switching in detail to the Palestinian issue, Netanyahu says the demand that the Palestinians recognize Israel as a Jewish state is not a precondition for renewed negotiations, but a basis for a lasting peace.

Netanyahu says security concerns must be addressed, and warns of the potential for terror tunnels to be dug between Kalkilya in West Bank and Kfar Saba, outside Tel Aviv — presumably in the event of Hamas and/or extremist forces gaining control in the West Bank.

“Who will ultimately guarantee that those tunnels are not dug? Who will go in and stop it?” he asks, referring to a situation in which Israel did not maintain the overall security control upon which he insists.

Netanyahu says stopping weapons smuggling in the Jordan Valley is not the prime problem, but rather the Palestinians making their own weapons.