Netanyahu said Trump will go down in history as the first world leader to recognize Israeli sovereignty in Judea and Samaria.
By David Isaac, World Israel News
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised President Donald Trump’s much-anticipated Mideast peace plan during its unveiling event at the White House on Tuesday evening.
Describing past peace plans as “well-intentioned,” Netanyahu said they failed because they didn’t “strike the right balance” between Israel’s national and security interests and Palestinian aspirations.
Unlike those plans, Netanyahu said Trump’s plan does address Israel’s security by “recognizing Israel’s sovereignty over all the Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria, large and small alike.”
“Rather than pay easy lip service to Israel’s security and simply shut your eyes, hope for the best, you recognized that Israel must have sovereignty in places that enable Israel to defend itself, by itself,” Netanyahu said.
Referring to the ancient roots of the Jewish people to areas of Judea and Samaria dating back to biblical times, Netanyahu said:
“Thanks to you, Mr. President, these areas and so many others that, for millennia, have been etched in the soul of the Jewish people and have fired the imaginations of millions of people around the world and across the world — these areas will now be recognized by the United States as a permanent part of the Jewish State.”
Drawing a parallel between Trump and President Harry Truman, “the first world leader to recognize the State of Israel” after it declared independence, Netanyahu said, “you became the first world leader to recognize Israel’s sovereignty over areas in Judea and Samaria that are vital to our security and central to our heritage.”
Netanyahu said it was a historic moment and “I am prepared to seize the moment and change history.”
“I also hope that our other Arab neighbors embrace your vision and forge a path of reconciliation with Israel that can create for all of us a brilliant future,” he said.