Right wing politicians who visited Hebron on Monday called on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to annex Judea and Samaria.
The upcoming 50th anniversary of the Six Day War is an opportunity to raise the ante with respect to settlements in Judea and Samaria, one minister said. “We have to connect Judea and Samaria to the State of Israel. We have returned to our land, so that we will never again have to leave it,”
Thousands of visitors were shuttled into the city of Hebron so they could attend the event, which included live musical performances, tours of Jewish areas around the city and food vendors offering popcorn and cotton candy. Likud MK Oren Hazan urged PM Netanyahu to allow more Jews to move into the city, whose small community numbers around 800 people. According to the Palestinian Bureau of Statistics, some 215,452 Palestinians live in the city, 80% of which is under the control of the Palestinian Authority. The remaining 20%, that include the Jewish areas of the city and the Cave of the Patriarchs, is under Israeli military control.
The Jewish community has recently purchased two additional buildings and is waiting for the Defense Ministry to allow them to move in, Hazan told the crowd that had gathered to hear him. Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked (Bayit Yehudi) said the purchase of property in Hebron, much like in Judea and Samaria, is not an issue of real estate, but rather an ideological act driven by love of the Jewish people for their land. Jews have lived in this city since the time of the Bible, Shaked said. Lets pray that Israel takes back control over all the land that God promised to Abraham!
Jerusalem Post, April 27th
