Coalition lawmakers and Knesset Land of Israel Caucus co-chairs Yuli Edelstein (Likud), Simcha Rothman (RZP), and Limor Son-Har Melech (Otzma Yehudit) congratulated Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on a brewing normalization deal with Saudi Arabia while warning the coalition will not accept any concessions made to Palestinians.
The reactions came in a Friday press release from the Land of Israel Caucus while the three were on a fact-finding tour in the Wye Nature Reserve, Gush Etzion and Hebron. Referring to the normalization progress, the three shared optimistic sentiments.
“We support and congratulate PM Netanyahu on his successful diplomatic mission and the historic process toward normalization of relations with Saudi Arabia. This is an outstanding diplomatic achievement.”
A price too steep for peace
The excitement, however, did not come without caveats. They were deliberate in noting that, while peace is something Israel desires, it will not give up land or make security concessions in order to gain it.
“It is important to stress that while Israel is a nation that values and strives for peace, we will not forfeit our land and we will not jeopardize the security of our citizens,” the co-chairs added. “We must not strengthen or empower the Palestinian Authority, which excels at only one thing - rewarding terrorists - and we must not allow any additional land to be ceded to the Palestinian Authority.
It is imperative that we learn from past experience: concessions only fuel terrorism. We must not forfeit assets that may be turned against us and used to harm Israel’s citizens. As the Prime Minister has stated many times, peace in exchange for peace is the only real peace.”
According to the press release, after Edelstein, Rothman, and Son-Har Melech’s visit to the nature reserve, they went on to observe “mass-scale illegal Arab construction” before moving on to Hebron, where the three Land of Israel Caucus co-chairs were informed about recent developments in the area.
They additionally visited Hebron’s Tomb of the Patriarchs.