Netanyahu: ‘I Do Not Plan to Evacuate a Single Settlement’
by Gidon Ben-Zvi
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced on Friday that he does not intend to abandon a single Jewish community located over the Green Line, Israeli daily Ma’ariv reported.
At a press conference convened to sum up the Israeli delegation’s activity at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Netanyahu was asked about his commitment to the Jewish Israeli population centers located in the Jordan Valley.
In response, the Israeli Premier said, “I do not intend to evacuate a single settlement, I do not intend to uproot a single Israeli.”
Regarding the status of the ongoing talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority, Prime Minister Netanyahu downplayed any expectations for a peace deal in the near future. “The Americans have [merely] stated their ideas for a framework from which to facilitate negotiations, a path from which to progress forward,” he said.
Regarding the question of whether the current talks will address lingering final status issues between the parties, Netanyahu said that the negotiations between Jerusalem and the Ramallah at this stage are not meant to lead to a final agreement, Ma’ariv reported.