Ahead of President Trump’s upcoming visit to Israel, Netanyahu advisor Amb. Dore Gold said Israel was focusing on a number of issues. “The Jordan Valley has been the front line of Israel’s defense since 1967. The Jordan Valley is something which Yitzhak Rabin, the man who started the whole Oslo peace process, warned in his last Knesset speech: ‘Israel must retain the Jordan Valley in the widest sense of that term.’ So that’s our front line. We’re not giving up the Jordan Valley, and Israeli polls show 80% of the Israeli public wants to retain the Jordan Valley.”
“One other point – Jerusalem. In an era in which holy sites are being blown up all over the Middle East – in Egypt, in Iraq, in Syria – we are going to turn over the holy sites of Western civilization to Mr. Abbas, to Hamas, or ISIS? Israel and only Israel will protect Jerusalem for all the great faiths. And I hope the U.S. administration understands that.”
“Before we talk about Israeli concessions, let’s ask ourselves one fundamental question. Do we have bridgeable differences between the parties? What many of us who have been involved in negotiations for more than 15 years have concluded is that a final status deal covering all the issues – like Jerusalem, like security, like borders – is not in the cards right now. But more limited understandings can be reached that are important for the Palestinians and important for Israel, and that’s what we should be aiming for.”
