Sovereignty in Judea and Samaria in two months, Netanyahu says

“A couple of months from now, I’m confident that that pledge will be honored, that we will be able to celebrate another historic moment in the history of Zionism,” he said.

By David Isaac, World Israel News

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a special broadcast on Sunday that in “a couple of months,” Israel will establish sovereignty in Judea and Samaria.

The prime minister made his online address, broadcast by the Government Press Office, to mark the 100th anniversary of the San Remo Conference of 1920, an important milestone in Zionist history, which gave international backing to the Balfour Declaration.

The message was directed at Evangelical Christians, particularly in America, a major bloc of support for the State of Israel and a strong constituency of President Donald Trump.

“Three months ago, the Trump peace plan recognized Israel’s rights in all Judea and Samaria and President Trump pledged to recognize Israel’s sovereignty over the Jewish communities there and in the Jordan Valley,” Netanyahu said.

“A couple of months from now, I’m confident that that pledge will be honored, that we will be able to celebrate another historic moment in the history of Zionism,” he said.

The issue of applying sovereignty was a major sticking point in the negotiations between Likud and Blue and White in their efforts to reach a deal on forming a unity government.

Blue and White initially wanted to wait on sovereignty until the crisis of the pandemic had passed. It eventually backed down, agreeing that by June 1 the Likud could bring the issue forward in the Knesset.

Blue and White hopes that more international support can be drummed up. However, the European Union’s foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said annexation would be a violation of international law. Borrell, a member of Spain’s ruling Socialist Workers’ Party, has been very critical of Israel in the past.

Israel gained control of Judea and Samaria in the 1967 Six-Day War, a conflict in which four Arab nations attacked the Jewish state. Currently, hundreds of thousands of Israeli Jews live in Judea and Samaria, in addition to another 200,000 Israelis who live in eastern portions of Jerusalem.