US President Trump's vision is good for Israel, especially if we compare it to previous American plans. His framework is the only realistic way we will ever achieve peace with our neighbors, and we should welcome that. However, and here the ball is in Israel's hands, some vital amendments must be made to the plan, and my friends and I in the settlement community have been working on them in recent days.
The problem isn't with the friendly US administration, but rather with the practical application of its goodwill. The problem is the map. Public discourse has created the impression that Israel has to take one of only two paths: either totally agreeing with the plan as-is and with the map as it was presented by the Americans in a joint declaration with Prime Minister Netanyahu, or completely forgoing the idea of applying sovereignty and missing a golden opportunity.
Follow Israel Hayom on Facebook and Twitter
Given the current administration, and the close friendship between Netanyahu and Trump, the leader of the Council of Jewish Communities in Judea and Samaria (Yesha) oppose the current version of the map and want to present a third option that would entail changing the map of Israeli sovereignty. This change will provide a solution for access to, and the existence of, all the settlements in a way that will allow the entire settlement enterprise to continue to exist and flourish.
With the current map, we are giving up critical Israeli interests and leaving 16 settlements as outcroppings, meaning that tens of thousands of residents will face a reality in which they cannot continue to live in those areas. We are cutting off central roads and arteries to settlements, thereby sealing their fates. We cannot sit by and let this happen. We have a responsibility to each other and a common interest to which we are committed.
What has happened with the American administration has been dramatic and is unparalleled since Israel's founding. The Trump administration is very generous and has come a long way on Israel's behalf: moving the US Embassy in Israel to Jerusalem; recognizing the Golan Heights, and declaring that the settlements do not violate international law. These are not things to be taken for granted and we are not dismissive of them. Certainly not after the administrations that preceded it and the blows delivered to the settlements by the 1993 Oslo Accords, the 2005 disengagement from the Gaza Strip, and the moratoriums placed on settlement construction.
But because of the fear of future US administrations that might be hostile to the settlements and seek to promote other interests, we need to make sure that the steps taken on the ground now do not put a number of settlements in a precarious position, setting them up to face more painful evictions.
No one in the settlements thinks that the current administration is made up of people who want to harm Israel, but even the White House will accept that we are the ones living here, know the territory best, and we have insights that should be heeded. All that is needed is for the Israeli side to take up the gauntlet and listen to the changes the Yesha Council wants to make to the map of sovereignty, then present it to the Americans.
We aren't ungrateful, and we aren't detached from reality. We are aware of the momentous occasion and have no desire to miss it, but we want to use it wisely. There is no reason why we can't arrive at a map that is acceptable to all sides, one that will allow us to celebrate a historic moment together.
Subscribe to Israel Hayom's daily newsletter and never miss our top stories!
