Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu urged settler leaders on Tuesday to embrace his vision of applying Israeli sovereignty to Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria under the auspices of the Trump administration's peace plan, saying that current relations between Israel and the US make this moment unique.
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"We are facing a historic opportunity to apply Israeli sovereignty to Judea and Samaria,'" the Prime Minister's Office tweeted after the meeting had concluded.
It is further understood that the prime minister told them that "the situation between Israel and the Americans is different than what it was five months ago." The prime minister did not elaborate but participants in the meeting said that he was likely referring to the ongoing domestic problems facing the Trump administration as a potential distraction from the peace process.
The settlers' main objections to the plan stem from its planned expansion of Palestinian control and the potential creation of a Palestinian state in some 50% of areas currently held exclusively by Israel in Judea and Samaria.
But Netanyahu and US officials have stressed over the past weeks that the Palestinians will only get a state if they no longer pose a threat to Israel and if they meet a certain set of strict criteria over a period of four years.
During the meeting on Tuesday, Netanyahu stressed that the specific areas for applying Israeli sovereignty have not been mapped yet, but settler leaders said they were worried that some communities would be left out.
The national-religious Yamina faction, which comprises the New Right and National Union parties, met Monday with settler leaders who oppose the plan and have pledged to fight it.
"US President Donald Trump has proved to be a great friend to Israel and we are grateful to him," Yamina leader Naftali Bennett said. "Applying Israeli sovereignty to these areas of the land of Israel is a historic act, but establishing a Palestinian terrorist state at the heart of our country will be an existential disaster. Once the map and plan are finalized, we will make our decision [about whether or not to vote in favor of the bid]."
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