Netanyahu: No Israeli will be ‘uprooted’ from Judea and Samaria

The Israeli prime minister vowed during a campaign stop in the Gush Etzion bloc on Monday that Israelis living in Judea and Samaria would not be forced from their land while he is in office.

By World Israel News Staff

As the campaign for Israel’s April 9 election kicks into high gear, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made a stop in Elazar to address a gathering of Israelis who were forced to abandon their homes last year in the nearby community of Netiv Ha’avot.

“As far as I am concerned, no more settlements will be uprooted,” he told the assembled, “but rather the exact opposite. The Land of Israel is ours and it will stay ours. What fell, will be rebuilt.”

Netanyahu’s comments were made in reference to the forced evacuations that have occurred during his term in office, which include the 15 homes that were demolished in Netiv Ha’avot, on the outskirts of Elazar, in addition to other similar incidents in Ofra and Amona.

The evacuations were ordered at the behest of Israel’s High Court of Justice, which Netanyahu lamented on Monday in Elazar.

“There are those who think that the way to achieve peace with the Arabs is to uproot us from our homes, but as long as it is up to me, it will never happen,” he added, according to the Jerusalem Post.

Netanyahu also planted an olive tree during his visit to Elazar, not far from where the Netiv Ha’avot neighborhood stood.