T. Belman. Unfortunately, I think Doiny is right. Mudar Zahran used to tell me that Netanyahu opposed the Jordan Option as Prime Minister and that Bennett was in favour. This really surprised me. Mudar used to tell me that Netanyahu was protecting King Abdullah.
Remember Netanyahu formed a government with Blue and White and made Gantz his Min of Defense. Surely he knew how Gantz felt about this issue.
I have been waiting to hear what Netanyahu or Likud has to say about extending sovereignty. For me it is the key issue.
On July,30 2022 Arutz 7 reported “In a leaked copy of his new book, Jared Kushner claims that Netanyahu “responded with less-than-expected enthusiasm”(to the move of the embassy to Jerusalem) and Trump defined him as “the problem”.
This is not surprising since Netanyahu is not what he seems to be. Netanyahu, for example, has repeatedly invented excuses to postpone the application of sovereignty.
On February 29, 2020 the Jerusalem Post reported “Yisrael Beytenu leader Avigdor Liberman alleged on Saturday that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told King Abdullah of Jordan that he would not annex the Jordan Valley and that it was all for the elections.
“I found out a few days ago that, during all the talk about annexing the Jordan Valley, Netanyahu sent a message to the King of Jordan saying, ‘don’t worry, it’s just election talk, there won’t be annexation,’” Liberman said, adding that Netanyahu had security forces deliver the message.
Netanyahu chose to partner with Blue and White and appoint Ashkenazi. Why did Netanyahu choose a foreign minister who says he wants to have a “foot on the brake” on sovereignty? On April 26, 2020 Arutz7 reported “MK Gabi Ashkenazi (Blue and White) on Saturday night gave an interview to Channel 12 News, his first since the signing of the coalition agreement with the Likud…Ashkenazi was asked about the issue of sovereignty in Judea and Samaria which Netanyahu promised his voters and replied, “We believe that it’s better to have an influence from within [the government]. You know, [though] maybe the public doesn’t know, that if Netanyahu brings [sovereignty] to a vote in the Knesset tomorrow, he will have a majority of 70 votes. We think that every person should ask himself who he wants behind the steering wheel when that happens. We prefer to have a hand on the wheel and a foot on the brake.”
Netanyahu said he would apply sovereignty but while he was PM he repeatedly looked for excuses to postpone sovereignty. Does he really want to apply sovereignty?
His actions over his years in power seem to provide evidence he moved in the opposite direction, he systematically surrendered areas in Judea, Samaria and even undermined Jewish sovereignty in Jerusalem’s Jewish Quarter.
Evidence A: Netanyahu signed an agreement with the EU allowing the EU to finance Palestinian projects in Jerusalem
On December 28, 2017 Israel National News reported “A number of government ministers were surprised to discover this week that, without notice, under their noses, an agreement was signed with the European Union that could have very significant implications for the State of Israel vis-a-vis the PA, B’Sheva revealed this morning, Thursday. This is an agreement called the “Transboundary Cooperation Program in the Mediterranean Basin” and is aimed at financing projects costing tens of millions of euros for 14 non-EU countries in the Middle East, including Israel and the Palestinian Authority, which is also defined as a political entity.
The agreement includes, inter alia, a clause stating that for Israel, the agreement does not apply beyond the Green Line, in eastern Jerusalem and in the Golan Heights. In the areas under the Palestinian Authority, on the other hand, it applies without any qualifications.
In other words, Israeli entities in Judea and Samaria, eastern Jerusalem, and the Golan Heights will not be able to participate in the projects and receive funding. The PA is enjoying a privilege here that no previous agreement has given it: it will not only be responsible for projects in the Palestinian Authority, but will be able to seek support for projects in the areas that, according to the Oslo Accords and other agreements, are under Israeli sovereignty.
These include Area C, which is certainly under Israeli control and eastern Jerusalem – where the Palestinian Authority has no legal status and, therefore, should not have a foothold as a decision-maker. What kind of projects does the PA want to implement within the framework of this agreement with the EU?
For example, the PA wants the EU to invest in a project that promotes the “Palestinian heritage” of Sebastia, one of the places where Israel has actually consolidated its control in recent years. Another project on the agenda of the Palestinian Authority is activity at one of the gates of the Old City of Jerusalem, a place that is, by all accounts, under Israeli sovereignty. A long list of projects aimed at undermining Jewish heritage and the State of Israel is on the PA’s agenda. How did this happen? How was such an agreement approved without any significant protest?
The story of the approval of this agreement begins on December 13. All government ministers received a request to approve the agreement, stating that “in accordance with sections 10 and 19 (b) of the government’s work regulations, if no reservation is filed within a week, it will acquire the force of a government decision.”
…Minister Miri Regev, who understood that the proposal was at the very least problematic and required amendments, exercised her right and submitted a reservation. It was in headlines for a day, and some of the cabinet ministers who understood what was happening did not bother to present reservations of their own – because they relied on Regev’s. On Monday, some ministers were surprised to hear from the cabinet secretary that the decision had been approved. These were ministers who wanted to hold a discussion on the plan at the upcoming cabinet meeting because of the inherent problems with it. The Cabinet Secretary made it clear to the ministers that asked him about the matter that Regev’s reservations were recorded as opposition to the decision – and in fact as a vote against.
Because Regev did not explicitly request an additional hearing, however, the automatic approval of the agreement came into force. Other ministers who had counted on Regev’s opposition were left with a decision that not a few had wanted to oppose or work to amend, but who missed the train, each for his own reasons…”
Evidence B: In 1996 Netanyahu allowed the construction of a Mosque in Salomon Stables in Jerusalem’s Temple Mount
Netanyahu has been making concessions to the Palestinians since 1996 when he allowed them to build a mosque in the Salomon Stables area in Temple Mount. On October 1996 templemount.org reported “Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu instructed Israeli authorities not to block the opening of a mosque at Solomon’s Stables, an area underneath the Temple Mount, HA’ARETZ reported. The decision reportedly took into consideration security assessments which determined that any attempts to reverse construction work at the site would spark a new round of rioting…”
Evidence C: in 2019 Netanyahu allowed the construction of another mosque in Temple Mount’s Gate of Mercy
On March 1, 2019 Arutz 7 reported “Tzachi Dvira, the archaeologist managing the team that sifts through soil excavated from the Temple Mount, on Thursday called on Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu to immediately order the evacuation of the Golden Gate compound from the Arabs that took over it…They will renovate the site and damage the antiquities. There are remnants there from the period of the Second Temple. If they are allowed to renovate, I doubt there will be archaeological inspection there. I hope that the State of Israel will come to its senses and prevent the next archaeological disaster.”
Evidence D: Netanyahu allowed the expansion of Palestinian cities in Area C
On June 16, 2017 the Jerusalem Post reported ” Right-wing politicians are up in arms over the idea of expanding Palestinian cities in Area C. Late Wednesday, the Prime Minister’s Office confirmed a report on Channel 2 that the security cabinet in 2016 authorized 14,000 new homes for Kalkilya allowing it to expand into Area C.”
Evidence E: Netanyahu authorized a Palestinian industrial park and thousands of building permits for Palestinians in Area C
On May 26, 2017 the Jewish Press reported that “This past Sunday, PM Netanyahu’s security cabinet passed a series of new concessions to the Palestinian Authority ahead of President Trump’s visit in order to show Trump that Netanyahu is serious about peace. The goodwill gestures were not initially revealed to the public, and are now coming to light. Eight of the ten cabinet ministers voted in favor of all the concessions. Naftali Bennett and Ayelet Shaked voted against at least some of them According to some reports at the time, the US Administration did not feel that Netanyahu offered enough with these gestures. The gestures approved by the cabinet were:
1. Easing passage out of the Palestinian Authority into pre-67 Israel, and enlarging the crossing station near Tulkarem.
2. Expanding the hours of the Allenby Border Crossing with Jordan, to run 24/7.
3. Constructing a new Industrial Zone in Tarkumiya, in Area C, which is land under full Israeli control, effectively converting parts of Area C into Area A.
4. Granting the Palestinian Authority thousands of building permits in Area C to retroactively legalize illegally built Arab construction.
5. To consider a plan to connect the city of Jenin to the Israeli train network. Education Minister Naftali Bennett (Bayit Yehudi) has come out strongly against the plan to create the Tarkumiya Industrial Zone in Area C, according to a report in Makor Rishon. Tarkumiya is the crossing point in southern Hebron, north of Kiryat Gat.
According to the report, the Tarkumiya gesture will hand over thousands of dunams of land to the PA from Area C, which will be converted in Area A, right along the Green Line. A dunam is approximately a quarter-acre. Furthermore, the industrial zone won’t even be a joint Jewish-Arab industrial zone as other industrial zones in Area C are, but will be exclusively for Palestinian Authority Arabs.
During the meeting, Bennett raised the point that the Palestinian Authority is actively trying to expand into Area C. Bennett expressed surprised that the industrial zone had to be expanded into Area C, when there is plenty of open space in nearby Area B. Area B is under Palestinian Authority civilian control, and Israeli security control. In addition, this zone is being built along the security fence, which Bennett says is a security risk…”
Evidence F: Netanyahu allowed the construction of Palestinian roads in Area C
On October 26, 2017 the Jewish Press reported “The Palestinian Authority is increasing illegal activity in the area of the Masuda railway station near Sebastia in Samaria, Regavim reported Wednesday. The ancient railway station was established by the Ottomans in 1915, during the First World War. The area has been state-owned land by definition at least since that war, and since it is within Area C of Judea and Samaria, the Oslo Accords determine that it is under full Israeli control…In recent days, members of the Regavim movement have discovered a large number of heavy equipment that began paving a road along the Turkish railway route in an area under Israeli control…About a year and a half ago, Regavim warned the Civil Administration, based on preliminary information, that the PA intended to pave an illegal asphalt road going through the station compound towards the village of Burqa. Despite this advance warning, the Civil Administration’s supervision unit did not prevent the paving…”
Evidence G: Netanyahu allowed the renovation of a mosque in the heart of Jerusalem’s Jewish Quarter
On November 25, 2019 Arye Savir wrote in World Israel News and TPS “Residents of the Jewish Quarter of the Old City of Jerusalem are preparing for widespread protests following the renovation and reopening of the Sidna Omar mosque in the heart of the neighborhood. The mosque, located on the main road to the Western Wall and in close proximity to several Jewish educational institutions, has been closed for decades and will open to Muslim worshipers in the coming weeks after undergoing renovations paid for by Jordan. This development has become a source of great concern in the Jewish Quarter and among Jewish communities in Jerusalem and abroad…
Residents of the Jewish Quarter told Tazpit Press Service (TPS) they are outraged at what they say is the incompetence of the Israeli authorities…Chaim Silberstein is the founder of Keep Jerusalem, “a non profit, non partisan organization founded to educate the public at large as to the importance of a United Jerusalem under Israeli Sovereignty,” according to its website. “It is clear that this effort by the Muslims to reopen this mosque in the heart of the Jewish quarter is a political, not religious, move,” Silberstein told WIN. “There is a plethora of mosques and religious institutions in the areas where the Muslims live in the Old City and elsewhere. There are no Muslims living in the immediate area this mosque. “It is a blatant effort by bad-intentioned Muslims to stir up religious tensions and challenge Israeli sovereignty and legitimacy in the Old City. This must be stopped immediately, and if not, we will be witness to further acts of aggression and challenges to our sovereignty,” Silberstein continued. “If this is unchecked it will inevitably bring about clashes and violence and bloodshed, which is their goal in the first place. In short, this is religious terror, and Israel would be smart to nip it in the bud right now,” he warned.”
Netanyahu could have prevented the renovation of the mosque in Jerusalem’s Jewish Quarter but he turned a blind eye. Were the Israeli authorities incompetent or is Netanyahu taking steps to surrender Jerusalem’s Jewish Quarter to comply with UNSC 2334? Obama’s UNSC 2334 approved in 2016 ruled that Jerusalem’s Jewish Quarter including the Western Wall are in “occupied Palestinian territories”.
Not only Netanyahu postponed the application of sovereignty, he also took steps in the opposite direction: surrendering parts of Area C and enabling an Arab infiltration even in Jerusalem’s Jewish Quarter.
If Netanyahu is elected PM again, again he will start inventing excuses not apply Sovereignty. The right should choose a different PM, one commited to the Application of Sovereignty.
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