Senior rabbis demand Netanyahu reject Palestinian state

Three senior rabbis from the religious-Zionist community have demanded that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reject any terms of the Trump peace plan that allow the establishment of a Palestinian state. Rabbi Haim Druckman, the most senior rabbinical figure in the religious-Zionist sector, together with Rabbis Dov Lior, Elyakim Levanon and Eliyahu Zini issued their statement on Monday afternoon, shortly before Netanyahu is scheduled to meet with US President Donald Trump about his long-awaited deal. The rabbis however that they would welcome the terms of the proposals allowing Israel to annex territories in the West Bank. “We request that red lines are determined: No to agreeing to a 'Palestinian' state,” the rabbis declared, referring to such an entity as “a de facto terror state in the heart of our holy land.” The rabbis also said that Netanyahu should not agree to terms which distinguish between settlement blocs and individual settlements, and nor should he allow Israeli settlements to be isolated within the sovereign territory of a Palestinian state. Finally, they said that territories in Area C of the West Bank which are under full Israeli military and civilian control, should become part of Area B which is under Palestinian civil but not military control. The Trump plan is expected to be very generous to Israel and will reportedly allow Israel to annex the Jordan Valley, most of the settlements and 30 percent of Area C of the West Bank which they lie in. But the plan is also expected to include provision for the eventual establishment of a demilitarized Palestinian state, allow east Jerusalem to be the Palestinian capital, dismantle several dozen unauthorized settlement outposts, leave some settlements isolated and give 70% of Area C to the Palestinians. Area C constitutes 60% of the overall territory of the West Bank.

Senior rabbis demand Netanyahu reject Palestinian state

The rabbis however that they would welcome the terms of the proposals allowing Israel to annex territories in the West Bank.

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