Israel’s new gov’t: We’ll build on our land from Golan to West Bank

It did not clarify what the borders of that statement contained but it did pledge to “promote and develop all parts of the Land of Israel.”

By TOVAH LAZAROFF
Published: DECEMBER 28, 2022 12:27
Updated: DECEMBER 28, 2022 12:56
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visits the Efrat settlement located in the Gush Etzion region just outside of Jerusalem (photo credit: IGOR USDACHI)
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visits the Efrat settlement located in the Gush Etzion region just outside of Jerusalem
(photo credit: IGOR USDACHI)

Israel’s new government pledged to develop its land from the Golan Heights to the West Bank, as part of a series of policy statements it published on Wednesday.

“The Jewish people have an exclusive and unquestionable right to all areas of the land of Israel,” it said in a document published a day before the swearing-in of the coalition.

It did not clarify what the borders of that statement contained but it did pledge to “promote and develop all parts of the Land of Israel.”

Development plans

But the policy statement explained that the land it indented to develop included the Galilee, the Negev, the Golan Heights, all of which are contained within its sovereign borders.

 Head of the Otzma Yehudit party MK Itamar Ben Gvir at a special committee in the Knesset, the Israeli parliament in Jerusalem, on December 18, 2022.  (credit: YONATAN SINDEL/FLASH90)Head of the Otzma Yehudit party MK Itamar Ben Gvir at a special committee in the Knesset, the Israeli parliament in Jerusalem, on December 18, 2022. (credit: YONATAN SINDEL/FLASH90)

Within that same line, the government pledged to develop Judea and Samaria, otherwise known as Area C of the West Bank, which is located outside of its sovereign territory.

The new government further promised to strengthen the status of Jerusalem.

Under its policy guidelines, the government promised to “promote peace with all our neighbors while preserving Israel’s security, historical and national interests.” It also pledged to combat Iran’s nuclear program.

The issue of Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights was underscored, with an explanation that it was a “strategic region” with a large potential for development. Israel captured the Golan heights from Syria the 1967 Six-Day War and annexed it in 1981. The United States recognized that sovereignty in 2019, but no other country has followed suit.

Within its coalition agreements, the government promised to expand cooperation with the Arab countries with which it normalized ties in 2020, under the auspices of the US-brokered Abraham Accords.

It will also “work to promote additional peace agreements in order to end the Israeli-Arab conflict.”

Separately the government pledged to promote a visa exemption agreement with the United States.

Content retrieved from: https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/politics-and-diplomacy/article-726002.