Yamina candidate Naftali Bennett revealed on Sunday what he claimed were the details on how the long-awaited US Mideast peace plan would divide Judea and Samaria between Israel and the Palestinians. The alleged plan, which Bennett revealed on social media complete with a map, gives over 90% of Judea and Samaria to the Palestinian Authority.
"Folks, it's time to reveal: This is the 'Islands Plan' of the 'deal of the century,' which will be imposed on us right after the elections," Bennett wrote on Facebook. "In black, Palestine. In white, isolated Israeli 'islands' in an ocean of Palestine, surrounded 360 degrees by Hamas, Tanzim, PLO."
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Bennett called the plan "hell for every resident of Ariel, Ofra and Kiryat Arba" and "an end to the settlement [enterprise]."
According to the image, Israeli towns and cities would be connected by narrow passageways to Israel. Jerusalem and the Jordan Valley would be part of Israel, according to the map.
During his announcement last week that Israel would extend its sovereignty to the Jordan Valley if he was re-elected this week, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had deliberately referred only to sovereignty in the "settlements" but not in Area C, said Bennett. The reason for this, he said, was that Netanyahu knows the Trump plan gives Israel the towns while providing the PA with all the land around them.
"[Netanyahu] promised no more evacuation of any settlements," said Bennett. "All this is technically true, but in practice, the plan consigns the land of Israel to oblivion. Because no Israeli will agree to live in an enclave surrounded by an enemy. This is just like Netzarim in Gush Katif [in Gaza] – a narrow road leading to a settlement surrounded by a wall. That's the plan."
Meanwhile, Yamina leader Ayelet Shaked told Channel 12's "Meet the Press" program on Saturday night that Netanyahu had also failed to "talk about how [the United States is] going to divide Jerusalem. The plan includes giving east Jerusalem neighborhoods to the Palestinians."
Shaked also asserted that some Jewish communities would fall under PA sovereignty according to the US peace plan, but did not provide details regarding the source of the information.
Bennett on Sunday accused Netanyahu of keeping Israelis in the dark on the details of the plan.
"Netanyahu only presented the cherry on top of the 'deal of the century,'" said Bennett, "sovereignty in the Jordan Valley. Did you ask yourselves, what did he pay for it? Why would Trump wait with publicizing the plan? … The answer is the 'islands plan.' It's coming. Wake up!"
Bennett also did not reveal the source of his information.
Likud spokesman Jonatan Urich took to Twitter to reject Bennett's claims, saying the map "isn't correct" and calling it "fake news," accusing Bennett of being "eager to undermine our sensitive relationship with the Trump administration for the sake of a tweet."
A senior US official also denied the accuracy of Bennett's map on Sunday, according to The Jerusalem Post.
"The map posted by Naftali Bennett today, and his claim that this represents the vision for peace of the Trump administration, [are] highly inaccurate," said the official, according to The Post.
Reprinted with permission from JNS.org.
