Settler leaders welcome US Ambassador to Israel David Friedman’s remarks that the United States will recognize Israeli annexation of parts of the West Bank as part of Trump administration’s peace plan.
However, they’re divided on the merits of the plan, which the US has said Israel must accept in its entirety to move forward with annexation.
Oded Revivi, mayor of the Efrat settlement, points to Chaim Weizmann’s backing of the decisions at the San Remo conference 100 years ago “even though the entire Zionist dream wasn’t realized” and David Ben-Gurion’s acceptance of the UN partition plan in 1947 despite reservations about the proposed borders of a Jewish state.
“The same courage is now required from the right-wing and settlement leadership to say yes despite the conditions and the challenges,” he says in a statement.
US Ambassador to Israel David Friedman (4th from right) tours the Efrat settlement with settler leaders on February 20, 2020. (Courtesy)
Har Hebron Regional Council chairman Yochai Damri praises Friedman while saying the Trump plan has “red lines” he opposes, such as the establishment of a Palestinian state.
“This an unethical, immoral step and from past experience is also a clear danger to residents of the country,” he says.
Beit El Mayor Shai Alon calls on the government “to stop stuttering” and move forward with annexation.
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