‘No more uprooting of settlements in the Land of Israel,’ Netanyahu vows

“We came back here to stay forever. There will be no more uprooting of settlements in the Land of Israel,” Netanyahu told thousands at an event in Samaria.

Addressing a special ceremony Monday evening marking 50 years since the liberation of Judea and Samaria, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed never to allow the uprooting of a Jewish community in the Land of Israel.

The “Lights of the Jubilee” event, organized by the Samaria Regional Council, took place in the Barkan Industrial Park in Samaria and was attended by thousands.

“This is the inheritance of our forefathers, this is our country,” Netanyahu said. “We came back here to stay forever. There will be no more uprooting of settlements in the Land of Israel.”

“We uprooted settlements, and what did we get? We got missiles,” he said, referring the Israeli disengagement from Gaza. “That will no longer be the case….In defiance of those who want us to uproot — we will deepen our roots, build, strengthen and settle.”

Israeli Education Minister Naftali Bennett, leader of the Jewish Home party, said, “The prime minister spoke about not uprooting settlements and I want to say — do not uproot the rooted, but if you did, then replant that which you uprooted.” He added that the Israeli government must build “more neighborhoods and more new settlements.”

An official Israeli government ceremony marking 50 years to the day of the establishment of Kfar Etzion will take place in that community on Sept. 13. Kfar Etzion, which was destroyed by Jordanian forces in 1948 during the War of Independence, was the first Jewish community to be rebuilt after the Six Day War.

By: JNS.org and World Israel News Staff