Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised the US for backing his plans to declare Israeli sovereignty in the Jordan Valley and settlements in Judea and Samaria in a meeting with members of the movement HaBithonistim at the Prime Minister's Office on Monday.
The Bithonistim representatives wanted to express their support for Netanyahu, and said that American recognition of the move was of great importance and that Israel was facing a historic opportunity.
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Maj. Gen. (res.) Yitzhak (Jerry) Gershon told Netanyahu, "First and foremost, we want to express our support and appreciation and strengthen you for the dedication with which you have been leading the state of Israel for the past decade.
"There is a paradigmatic shift in reality here. This decision on what will happen between the Jordan and the sea is one of the most important and dramatic in the current generation of the Zionist movement," Gershon said.
"Unfortunately, I do not see another leader among us capable of leading this move. I do see those who are trying to interfere with this move. Mr. Prime Minister, I ask you to do this not for yourself, [but] for us, and especially for future generations," he added.
Netanyahu said in response that Israel was facing "a historic opportunity and we are currently working on it."
"I thank you for the great support and I am glad to hear that there are a thousand officers, and thousands more, who want to join," Netanyahu continued.
Netanyahu further said that the maps being discussed for the sovereignty move, "are not the end of the negotiations," asking the detractors of the plan to see the measure as the first in many steps toward establishing full sovereignty in the areas that Israel sees as an inseparable part of its territory.
"All we have to do is to agree to hold talks with the Palestinians," he said, referring to the steps Israel must take under the Trump administration's peace plan in exchange for extending its sovereignty. He further said that "in several months" the protests in the Arab world against the move will stop.
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