Dichter: Trump map worrisome, settlements should be annexed
Binyamin Regional Council head Israel Ganz, who hosted Dichter, told him that “We must safeguard the settlements, and they in turn will safeguard us.”
By TOVAH LAZAROFFBinyamin Regional Council head Israel Ganz and Likud MK Avi Dichter.(photo credit: BINYAMIN REGIONAL COUNCIL)
Settler leaders are justifiable worried about Trump’s annexation map, MK Avi Dichter said on Monday as he called for the application of sovereignty to West Bank settlements during a visit to the Binyamin region of Judea and Samaria. “There is no difference between Herzliya and [the settlements of] Shiloh and Amichai: Sovereignty must be applied,” said Dichter, who is a former Internal Security minister and director of the Shin Bet (Israel Security Service).Binyamin Regional Council head Israel Ganz, who hosted Dichter, told him: “We must safeguard the settlements, and they in turn will safeguard us.”His visit comes in the midst of a Yesha campaign to ensure the application of sovereignty to all West Bank settlements, while at the same time lobbying politicians to ensure that the Trump peace plan is rejected.The Yesha Council is opposed to the provision in the Trump plan unveiled in January that allows for the creation of a Palestinian state. But they also fear that the plan, which allows for the annexation of 30% of the West Bank, includes hidden or misunderstood details that would allow for both a settlement freeze and the destruction of at least 15 settlements.Council members shared their concerns with Jerusalem Affairs Minister Rafi Peretz (Bayit Yehudi) on Sunday. On Monday, Ganz found a sympathetic ear when he discussed the matter with Dichter during his visit.“I understand well the concerns regarding [US President Donald] Trump’s Deal of the Century,” Dichter said.The map “justifiably alarms the regional council heads and members of those in the settlements,” he said.The Palestinian Authority can not be a trusted partner when it comes to the West Bank, Dichter said, adding that he has come to this view after observing the PA’s relations with Israel over the last three decades.Since it’s not possible to advance with the PA, “sovereignty should be applied” on people and territory in the West Bank, he said.Ganz said: “We told Dichter that we expect all those who support the settlements... not to any have recognition of a Palestinian state, theoretical or otherwise.”The settler leader told Dichter he was concerned about the secret maps Israeli and US officials were drawing up with regard to sovereignty and warned against the placement of settlements within small enclaves that would choke them.Israel must not repeat the mistake it made with the 2005 Gaza withdrawal, in which it abandoned territory to the Palestinians, Ganz said.
